The modern mantra is to live for oneself. You hear it all over popular music, often as a way to soothe hurt people over breakups. For instance, the song "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston sounds sweet and innocent enough but actually is just promoting what is really a Satanic message (sorry if cliche). It's about loving yourself. OK, is that a spiritually fulfilling message, REALLY? Buddhism, Islam and Christianity would say "no".
Living for Yourself vs Losing One's Self
- Thread starter Jason76
- Start date
Living for yourself means acting based on your own needs and choices. Not saying what you think means holding back your real thoughts, often to avoid conflict or fit in, which can lead to losing a bit of your true self over time.
I don't agree with over-conformity to a degree and varying with the personal situation. However, I think a person wanting to be a better person might have to bury some things about themselves to build a new person (ex: Marine Corps, Becoming a monk or nun etc.).
I agree. Self-improvement often requires sacrifice and discipline. Sometimes people have to leave certain habits or parts of their old life behind to become the person they want to be, but that should be a personal choice rather than forced conformity.
It's better to focus on your true happiness than to blindly follow sheep and conform to what others want. You should care about others but you also should live life the way you want to because if we only get one life, why live to try and please others?
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