Phun-size Philosophy # 62 – War

Wars are the situations in which sides are pitting against each other and it is usually an armed conflict and can be perceived as an active struggle between competing entities. War usually occurs when there are strained relationships but can occur unprovoked and just happens because one side wants to forcefully take something from another. There are many motivations that can in a sense cause feuds and some include land, power, resources, and other finites resources that you can possibly run out of requiring you to get more from others. Two main reasons why war would break out could possibly be because one side wants something the other owns and they don’t negotiate for it or one side just has a straight up problem with another and will do anything to exterminate them. While the latter usually only occurs in extreme situations where genocide is likely to follow, the former is usually the underlying case for almost all armed conflicts. There are many transformations that occur from the beginning of war to the end. This process can have different locations and weapons that change as time progresses but the underlying themes and motivations explained above pretty much transcend time. When I talk about transformations I also refer to the individual sides and how certain sides or aspects may be flourishing but can get completely destroyed during the whole warfare progression. The economy of big business usually grows exponentially like defense contractors but the growths of other aspects that don’t relate to war get inhibited by all the fighting. Different sectors will inevitably prosper and others will be squandered by war. Big business related to governmental affairs like the defense contactors I said before will most likely benefit from killing but things like populate get reduced depending upon the chaos and destruction caused by war. The outcomes of wars can vary dramatically from case to case. Depending on the power of each side, the war can end quickly or result in a stalemate which are the worse because the destructions just spreads unless there is diplomacy involved or one side gives up. When you talk about wars you need to talk about the winners and losers involved. The winner is usually the one that forces another to surrender or defends successfully against the incoming attackers. If you are attacking and win, you will get in a sense “prizes” that can come in the form of money, resources, and other desirables that motivated you to fight in the first place. If you successfully defend an attack you will probably get to keep one of the most precious prizes of all which is your life. Regardless of which side wins of losses, the winner has the capability to write history the way they see fit because the losing side has no say in the matter. Finally, I think it is important to talk about the ending of war all together. I believe that it is the worst conflict resolution technique and should only be used in the extreme of cases which I believe are never really justifiable. However, I think that until we learn alternative behaviors and ways to deal and interact with each other we may be doomed to repeat history by not learning from our past mistakes. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 61 – Bias

Bias can in a sense be described as a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation. It is the leaning viewpoints that are in an unfair way clouding judgments. Everyone has a certain perspective on almost every issue or topic and it is human nature to have beliefs but finding out where they originate from and are formulated is something interesting to think about. We all have our own opinions but when you really think about it, I believe it is pretty surprising how much our opinions are influenced by the rest of the world. Your opinion can be manipulated by external factors to the point where it may not necessarily seem like it is truly deep down what you really believe but what you think you or have been taught to believe. I remember watching a new episode of Family Guy where Brian hated Rush Limbaugh because of what others said about Rush but after reading Rush’s book, Brian completely agreed with Rush’s viewpoint. The reason for this is because Rush’s beliefs were the next seemingly logical point presented to Brian and they didn’t come contested with a contradicting point. This meant that Brian wasn’t critically thinking and he was accepting the viewpoints of others without second thought just because it seemed like a good idea. He is accepting the bias of others without realizing that there are other choices and perspective out there. It is surprising how strong the external influence is on your life through advertisements, the internet, and other forms, and it is very rare that your opinions are 100% your own. This is especially the case is your have a vested interest or something you care about is at stake because it makes your more defined in your beliefs, efforts, and motivations. Being impartial means that you basically unaffected by the biases you are surrounded by daily and is almost impossible to achieve. Being impartial allows you to not get caught up in emotions and other aspects that could completely change your perspectives which can be a good thing but sometimes it is important to associate yourself with a side and feel strong about a particular standing. One way to help simulate impartiality is by playing devil’s advocate. Like I said before, it can be important sometimes to fight for something because it can give your life purpose but it cant get to the point where your are so stubborn in your beliefs that you won’t recognize or give other views a chance. Getting a full viewpoint and seeing all sides involved in a particular situation is very important in order to live a successful life. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 60 – Violence

Violence is basically a turbulent state that has the possibility of resulting in injuries and destruction. There are plenty of aggressive behaviors that are associated with anger. I did a previous note on anger and rage and this post will relate a lot with that because the two concepts are basically intertwined. I believe that violence can basically be operationalized to describe the behavior as the intention to injure or damage property. One of the big questions in today’s society is about asking whether or not violence is engrained in society. The media plays a huge role in this I believe because they portray these violent acts. I also believe that violent behaviors we see in the news every day are directly related to the amount of crime. One of the many theories of why there have been crime increases is that technology plays a role in inspiring citizens to commit violent crimes especially in children with videogames and television. One instance where this concept is prevalent is in children’s television programs. In cartoons like SpongeBob and Phineas & Ferb, there is a lot of violence that we don’t necessarily recognize as being a bad thing but find it comical because of the situation it is currently in. One specific thing I notice is when characters like SpongeBob, Patrick, or Squidward get hurt and in the next scene they seem completely fine. The one who is inflicting the pain also impacts its connotation like if SpongeBob commits a violent act it will be on accident but if Squidward does something violent, it is probably on purpose with the intention to injure SpongeBob. The humor used in these cartoon shows is used to take the significance of the pain off a focus point to the children and make it appear funny to the audience. While it may make the show entertaining, the only problem with this is that children may cause pain to their friends and family thinking it’s funny but they will have to learn the hard way it isn’t. The reasoning for using violence is dependent upon the current predicament and can be used in some conditions that have a justification for acting violent. If you are getting provoked to be violent, you still aren’t justified in your use for violence because you should be able to control your actions with self control. If you actively go out of your way to incite ruckuses and fights, then you are potentially a danger to society and should be punished. I believe that violence is never the answer unless it is used for self defense but that is a sticky subject because it is hard to sometimes determine if something was done out of self defense from an external perspective. Everyone has their own mentality on how to deal with violence as well like the eye for an eye approach. The sensitivity you have for others and your connections to others at an emotional level will determine how you will act to them especially with things like empathy and apathy. Deep down we all relate to each other through what we feel but it varies from person to person like some may care about others pain and others may want to inflict pain upon you. In early times of human history there was an internal sense of justice carried out by the individual but now there is a code of conduct that we all must abide by through the laws that the government enforces through police. I personally believe that unfortunately there will always be violence. In my opinion, I don’t believe that world peace is completely achievable but if future generations are being taught alternatives to violence we may be able to evolve past our basic instincts. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 59 – Slippery Slopes

Slippery slopes are basically the points in life in which the further you go down a path the harder it is stop let alone try and turn around or switch direction so it is a time in which you need to head with extreme caution. When I’m talking about going down a path I mean that when you take certain actions in life, if you continuously do them without restraint then it will become tougher and tougher to stop. It develops habits and if these habits aren’t associated with positive behaviors then it can end with negative results. It doesn’t also have to relate solely to your actions but the actions of others or your environment as well. A good concept or visual picture to consider when you’re thinking about this topic is the snowball effect. This is a perfect representation for this as a figurative term for the process that starts from an initial state of little significance but then build upon itself becoming bigger and bigger. While this may not necessarily be a bad or good thing per say, one thing that is almost certain to happen is that the “snowball” goes beyond the scope of your control as it progresses into an avalanche and because of this it could be potentially dangerous but possibly also beneficial depending on the situation. It is important to realize that things can get out of hand very quickly if not properly maintained so you need to actively observe and keep in check the different aspects and parts of your life that you wish to have a say in. Depending on your personality, you may be a person who is viewed as a control freak you needs to posses control over the current predicament. You may need to have the situation under your power and influence and exercising your capabilities in order to make life be the way you want and envision it to be but make sure those actions are well thought out. Slippery slopes once they get started are also hard to stop so you need to think well in advance of where you want the situation to go before it actually does get out of hand because then you’ll just be riding down the avalanche not being able to get out. If you want the future to head in a certain direction you need to be the change required to initiative it and early on before it is too late. You can’t just sit back and watch and expect or hope that the avalanche will stop or go in a direction you want it to. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 58 – Traps

Traps can be considered the situations used to capture and contain an object whether physically in the same location or abstract like in a verbal conversation you can get trapped in a hole and backed into a corner. The point of traps is that they usually put you in a compromising situation. If you get caught you will be perceived as committing a despicable act that you normally wouldn’t have been thought capable or possible by you. There are many ways in which these situations can occur and I believe one of the most popular form of traps is usually brought about by a vested interested that you posses getting turn on you. For instance, something that you care about and think highly of can leave you vulnerable and able to be taken advantage of. In superhero movies, the villain always lays a trap for the hero by kidnapping a loved one of the hero and making them come to a location usually to be ambushed. Being caught in a trap can also be caused by carelessness and being unaware meaning that it is possible you will be caught off guard. Two of the most common reasons you can be trapped is because of your emotions or aloofness and not being consciously attentive of your environment. Now that we know the main causes of getting caught in a trap it is important to recognize the different forms of traps. Two of the main types that I can think of off the top of my head are guilt traps and bait traps. Because there are different types of traps they also vary in effectiveness. This effectiveness is primarily determined by the situation it is implemented in. If you yourself are trying to establish a trap you need to take into consideration the probability in which a character will fall prey to the trap you intend to create. If you are the one who fell victim to a planned trap, it will probably become quite difficult for you to get out of it. Another important factor of a trap is the ability to leave a lasting impression on the one who got caught. If you are trying to lay a good trap you need it to leave a mark or scar on the individual in order to make an impression. I am in no way endorsing you should trap someone or become the next Jigsaw the in the movie Saw 16. I personally believe that the best policy when it comes to traps is practicing avoidance. There are usually two ways in which you can deal with a trap and that is either to try to escape/avoid it or face it head one. Before you make this decision you want to be as aware as possible of your surroundings in order to avoid a trap. There may be signs that can give away the surprise of a trap or just through instinctual behavior you may realize its presence. It is always better to try to avoid a trap then have to find out ways to get out of it. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 57 – Mannerisms

Mannerisms are basically how your personality, beliefs, and values will impact how you will act. It is a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual. These include the way in which one walks, talks, thinks, etc and almost all aspects of life have different methods of acting and behaviors that will be unique to a certain person and vary on a case by case basis. Almost everything has an underlying context or purpose for why it happened whether conscious or unconscious. There are probably some ulterior motives that you may or may not realize that determines and pretty much creates an excuse or alibi for why you acted a certain way at a certain time. The important thing to know is that they are specific actions, thoughts, etc that are distinct to you and that your mannerisms are unique to you alone because it is derived from your upbringing and nature. I have had the nature vs. nurture debate plenty of times and have come to the conclusion that both the genes that you are comprised of as well as the events and experiences you are exposed to will play a huge role in the mannerisms that you have when you grow. What you learn and live with as a child will set the stage for what you will become later in life. The genes and one of your parent’s biggest contributions to you come in the form of hereditary characteristics that, in addition to your upbringing, will also lay the framework for your mannerisms. While your mannerisms at one point won’t necessarily mean that your certain humor as a teenager will stick with you through adulthood, it can be pretty good indicator of how you will act in the future. Of course if you crack immature jokes when you are 17 doesn’t mean you will continue to do so when you’re 57 but it still gives a sense that you find certain subjects funny. If you know someone’s mannerism pretty well you can usually accurately predict what one will do, think, etc in a given situation placed in the right environment under the right variables. The motivations for what they do and why they do it is a good indication of what they’ll do in the future. It is important to keep in mind that everyone has their own unique quirks and signature styles meaning they will not always be interested in the same things you are so you shouldn’t expect it all the time. This is a good thing though because these unique aspects of individuals make life interesting and exciting. I like to think of the Fairly Odd Parents example of when everyone was a grey blob life was a dull drum but everyone’s personalities shown through their physical casings and still proved to make life fun and interesting. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 56 – Decisions

When you need to make a decision, you can basically picture yourself being stuck at a crossroad where you are in a sense forced to pick an option that is currently available to you. In order to make one, it is helpful to have some background information and prior knowledge regarding each option to give you a chance at making a good decision. When discussing decisions, you need to talk about those who are in the position to make them. It is usually the authority figures or those with power who are the ones that have the final decision and overruling say in the decision making process. They are the ones who have the greatest opportunity to make their dreams, desires, and wills come true. The ones who have the final say aren’t the only ones involved in making decisions though and it is important to recognize the other contributing factors. There are plenty of other people who get a say and act as influencers in a given situation. If you don’t have a lot of power it may be more difficult for you to affect the outcome but you can always try to change the perspective or persuade those who do. Not only do people have an impact on decisions but your environment can play a huge part in skewing or distorting ones viewpoint in order to have them think a certain way. If you are the president of some desert country and you need to decide where you will spend your resources, you environment will make issues such as water more imperative than say road construction. Another important question to ask regarding decisions is, “What are the implications and effects of a certain decision?” It is important to look at how the decision you make will impact the lives and future of others involved in the current predicament and how will it lead the path to future. When making a decision it is at the upmost important to think clearly and you should always try to get a big picture perspective because it is the best way to make an all encompassing choice. You must make sure you aren’t too biased or make hasty heat-of-the-moment decisions that will in the long run negatively impact your life down the road. In almost every single event that takes place, the variables involved are most likely going to be too numerous to control all of them. Because of this a particular situation may not seem like there is one seemingly obvious right or wrong choice you can make. There are multiple important factors that you must consider before making a good decision and they include reflecting on the past, looking towards future plans, intuition, instincts, guts, and using your own personal best judgments. If you do apply all of these to your decisions you will no doubt allow for and set the framework for the best decision possible in any given situation you will face. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 55 – Questions

Questions are the backbone from which we develop our knowledge and information. Questions are pretty much doubts and uncertainties about the truth or factuality or existence of something. They relate to curiosity and wondering and allow humans to discover more about themselves and the world around them in attempts to lead the way for a better future. These questions are used usually when you have a lack of knowledge and by doing so it means you have taken the initiative and shown the drive to want to learn more on your own time. Sometimes the tactic of asking questions even though you already know the answer is employed in several situations. It is a method to test the one providing the answer to observe what their response is and compare it to the knowledge you have already previously developed. Another type of questioning comes in the form of interrogations. It is when you question others in order to achieve some desired outcome or answer. Your questions in these cases don’t have to ask for facts but also personal opinion and perspectives in order to find out what exactly is going on and relate accordingly. In order to find the “right” answer you are looking for, it is imperative that you ask the right question. Phrasing and wording are important factors involved in the process of trying to receive the answer you are seek. In interviews you won’t receive the desired response unless you can set a basis from which you build upon the questions you’ve asked until it reaches a final answer. The main importance of questions is that they are an imperative part of learning more about the world and improving society as well. We’ve all heard the saying that there aren’t really any stupid questions and I agree with this. The only thing I have to say is that I believe questions can be construed as stupid when they have little to no relevance to the current subject at hand. The only stupid things about questions is if you ask the same ones over and over again because that means you won’t learn from the answers you’ve been given thus you won’t be able to progress and improve your life.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 54 – Reliefs

We all have or will inevitably experience those stressful situations where we feel like we are in a place where things will never get better. Reliefs are those feelings that come when something burdensome is removed or reduced. Those burdensome feelings can come from plenty of environmental factors that occur throughout life. Whether you get a bad grade on a test or something else terrible happened, it may not at the present moment be clear that life will eventually improve. In order to receive some feelings of relief, you must be currently in a tight spot to get better or feel a sense of relief. So many situations can cause you to desire or posses a need for appeasement. Like I said before, almost all reliefs aim at attempting to decrease stress. Every action or event in your life that is considered stimuli will provide some sense of stress (both good and bad) on you but it all matters on how you choose to deal with it. Pressure can put a huge weight on your shoulders and it is a major form of stress on the lives of individuals ranging from preteens to full on seniors. There are many other forms of stress as well but when your environment comes bearing down it is human nature to feel anxiety. The way you act and respond in high pressure situations is a huge part in trying to improve a situation. The collectiveness and calmness that you exhibit and display in your life all relates to the amount of composure you have. The composure you have then directly relates to how well you can deal with stress and when you need to experience some sense of relief. There are multitudes of coping mechanisms and methods from which we can then get on with our lives. This relief usually comes from an external source when you can’t deal with it yourself. Everyone could always use some miracle worker and hope that they will come to the rescue and saves the day but then it allows you to get over what you may not be able to have by yourself. We all need someone to lean on for support and comfort and it is necessary for a successful and happy lifestyle. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 53 – Tough Skin

Every single action or event in life will have some type of impact on you and your life. The reaction an individual has based upon this stimulus is all dependent upon said individual’s personality. There are multiple ways to deal with a given situation such as bottling up the emotions that one can feel. If you take this approach though you will inevitably start developing secrets and deep dark hidden thoughts and feelings and if it does continue drastically you may lose the ability to connect with others on a deeper level either by choice or by habit. If you choose this path I believe that there is a term called “tough skinned” that can apply to you. By being tough skinned, it means you don’t let your environment influence you a lot. The one of the benefits to this is that you keep the negatives out of your life. The world is filled with evils and if you don’t get fazed by them, they would be detrimental to your lifestyle. There are plenty of things that I wouldn’t want to be introduced to like war and inhumane and criminal acts that occur in everyday life. By being tough skinned it also means that you for the most part keep others out of your life. You probably either completely ignore those that are in your social network or you may just exclude yourself completely from all your relationships. This is one negative of what being tough skinned can do for you and sometimes it is necessary to share and relate to others. In life you can’t do everything on your own and in almost every situation you can accomplish so much more by working with others like in teams. Getting along with everyone in your surroundings is imperative for success in the future. If you help others you will then have a shoulder to lean on for support and reinforcement that allows you to feel comfort and reassurance. There’s no right or wrong way to live your life and nobody can tell you differently so being tough skinned or not isn’t necessarily good or bad. It is up to you and if you do leave yourself vulnerable to external factors you have the potential to be hurt by those around you. If you let your relationships affect those feelings instrumental to happiness, you leave yourself open to being harmed. The positive spin to this is that those relationships provide meaning in life and they are the key to a happy and successful future.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 52 – Waiting

Waiting means that you are anticipating the occurrence of something happening in the future. It is the period in which you are basically inactive because of an inability to pursue a particular subject usually because of an external factor. During this time period you could just be sitting around doing nothing but I consider this a huge waste of time. I believe that you should always take full advantage of the time you have been gifted of having here on Earth. I think that a productive thing to be doing during this time period where you can’t really progress because you need somebody to do something first, you should be utilizing it to its full advantage by planning and calculating. These are some of the major actions that you can take to make sure that the event you are waiting for will be worth the period of wait when the actual time arises for it to happen. In order to make sure that the wait was worth it, the event must occur at the right moment. Sometimes it might not be up to you to decide when things will happen so this advice may not apply to you but it is still helpful to know for future reference. When you are searching for the best time to strike you can either dive right into the situation where the situational variables may not be just right or you can just sit back or wait long periods of time trying to find the opportune moment to strike. The negative of just rushing into a situation is that the environment may not be set up correctly to achieve the desired results but it definitely can limit the time consumption. If you wait for the right moment you can waste lots of time where you can do other things instead of just waiting. If you aren’t completely attentive then it is possible that you could miss the right time and opportunity to accomplish a task. If you do decide to wait, patience is key and how much willingness you have to just sit there and use up time when you could be doing something else more meaningful. Motivation and determination are huge factors that can determine how long you’ll wait. Your loyalty also plays a role and how much loyalty you have to those who you are waiting for will be an influencer in what you are willing to do and how much time you’ll wait. The important thing to realize is that you can’t always control your environment but you most likely can control your response in almost every situation. While someone may have you wait, you can ultimately decide how to deal with the situation. For the most part you want to actively seek out the change you want to occur. If you want a successful and happy lifestyle you can’t just sit back and expect it to happen because you are the most reliable person for yourself and if you do want something done right (or at least done reliably), it will happen if you are able to do it yourself. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 50 – Rage and Anger

Rage and anger are the emotions that you associate with actions that negatively impact you or hit a particular section in your being where aggressiveness and other violent characteristics are derived from. The way you can tell when someone is feeling angry is by observing their behavior. Anger can be exhibited in a variety of actions that are normally considered to be negative or detrimental to their environment around them. One example is through temper tantrums. It is an act in which you can tell someone is furious with their current predicaments. Depending upon the personality and ego of a particular individual, their reactions can be completely different from anyone else. Some may decide that releasing the anger in a venting session (like my past note) is most beneficial to them or it is more important to keep it bottled up inside because their situation isn’t an appropriate environment to display your feelings like in front of your boss. You may react to a negative situation with only violence showing an eye for an eye approach or you can react with sadness and take a submissive stance on the situation as well as choosing a multitude of other options. The important thing to exercise during these moments of intense anger and rage is the ideal of self control. Self control is an important characteristic to master because it is inevitable in life that events will piss you off but knowing how to deal and get along or around obstacles in your path is the key to a successful lifestyle. I want to relate psychology to this because I have learned many interesting facts in my psychology class that relate and attribute to the anger one feels. Your ego that is the main contributing and controlling factor in your personality and has two main influential factors involved. The first one is superego which basically determines your sense of justice and what you believe is right or wrong. The other one is your id and that is basically the primal fury that can feed anger. In life we all have deep down wild and raw emotions that all situations and stimuli can affect. Almost everything you go through in life has the potential to make you feel specific emotions especially rage. Having knowledge and analyzing our perspective allows us to better understand these raw emotions and thus give us the opportunity to control them. In this day and age, most of humanity is civilized. We have come from savages and cavemen and through learning to control our emotions, it has given us the ability to advance our species and eventually lead to societal gains as well. Society then in turn advances the intellectual properties of humans through collaboration and evolution and it all boils down to learning to control the anger and rage as well as the other spectrum of emotions we will feel. So next time your parents piss you off, think about your actions because you wouldn’t want to regret how you react. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 51 – Locks

Locks are from a literal standpoint, objects that we use to create a cut off from others to gain entrance. This also can be applied to a philosophical viewpoint as well. The very concept of the word lock is to create a barrier from which only certain individuals can gain access to. Some ways in order to accomplish getting past the barrier can be done by knowing someone who has access themselves like in a club or if you yourself are qualified to join. This means that you have the ability to circumvent this blocking factor without the help of external factors. When talking about locks you need to look at the privacy aspects of the topic. The whole reason of instituting a lock in a particular situation is to prevent access to certain parties because you want to keep something private. It is drawing a line to what is off limits. When you are trying to keep something under wraps you usually put it under lock and key. Whatever is being kept hidden usually won’t be revealed from the inside because those who would make it public can’t gain access to it unless the have an inside source. This is very prevalent in the world of journalism as well as the stock market with insider trading and stories. When you have a lock, the hope is that it will effectively keep certain individuals or groups out that you wouldn’t want to be involved in the current situation. Only those with the key to the lock can be allowed or allow someone else to be accepted and get around the barrier set in place. An important part of keeping things locked is because you may not want others to know everything about you. We all have our secrets and if everyone had to reveal everything they were thinking right then and there, life would be completely different. What others know of you has the potential to change their perspective, interactions, and thoughts in respects to you. They can completely modify your world with their impact on your life so you must portray yourself in a positive light. If others view you as being a liar or annoying, it could impact your life by possibly losing a friend or having that perspective spread from person to person. Another interesting thing about keeping things under lock and key is the whole mystery aspect of it. Mysteries lead to wild imaginations and if you can’t form an idea off of a factual basis then your thoughts can lead to rumors and the spreading of misinformation and confusion. You don’t want others to get the wrong idea of you.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 49 – Resistance

If you are resisting something, it means that you are taking part in the action of opposing something that you disapprove or don’t agree with. It means that you are defending your space and preventing the advances of that something encroaching into your territory. If you are very resilient it means that you are trying your hardest to prevent an outcome you see the future headed in. You want to change this future because it doesn’t benefit you or a particular party you care about. An interesting perspective to take on this topic is that change is a natural part of life and trying to resist it can be detrimental to your future. The thing to consider is that impeding the progress of change in a certain direction doesn’t mean you are resisting change itself. You may see the future as a completely different picture and in order to get it there you must take a stand for what you believe in. The magnitude and result of your efforts to putting up a fight depends on your motivation and want of another future or to keep things the same. If you do desire to keep your environment the same you are then resisting change and that can be a very negative thing to do. Resisting change also means that you are resisting the natural improvement and developmental process of life. It may seem like a terrible thing at first when you naturally grow up and your life changes greatly, but it is important to try not to resist the positive change that comes from maturing. When it comes to counteracting change, you are not allowing one outcome to happen but it is important to take the initiative to be the change you envision. If you want life to be a particular way you need to make it that way. Your success in doing so is directly related to the amount of work and determination you put into it. If you truly want to accomplish your goals you must dedicate your efforts to get around the the obstacles you will inevitably face in life.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 48 – Bait

Bait can pretty much be considered as trying to direct the view and perspective of a particular individual. There are many forms in which bait can be perceived as. Whether it is jailbait or baiting you to give into peer pressure, baits will try to coax us into making decisions and committing deeds which we would have most likely not done otherwise. The main point is to draw them in especially if they are elusive and hard to catch. Their primary purpose in life is to be used to attract the attention of specific parties. Their effectiveness is dependent upon the amount of notice that they garner from the respective individuals. What I mean by that is do those who you are trying to bait care about what you are attempting to do. The success that can be outputted is highly related to the amount that the bait plays to the baitee’s interests. If you make it seem important to the individual then they will be more likely to care and fall for what you are putting on. Baits will not work if the individual is onto your case and is made aware of your underlying actions. If so, they will most likely use that knowledge in a fashion that is detrimental to you and your future. Like Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes, Elmer Fudd always got the short end of the stick when he tried to capture the infamous bunny. If you can do manage to make a believable scenario in an amazing manner, you can make it to the point where they cannot resist and their efforts to escape are futile. You basically create artificial motivation from which a person will be in a sense possessed to carry out a desired action. It is important for you create perceivable benefits to those who you are trying to bait and if you do so, they will probably go out and actively seek and find what you have set up for them. The thing with baits is that it is usually a trap. Baits usually have a direct relationship with setting up an environment in a particular organized fashion. You want to arrange the surroundings in a specific style that usually involves getting the individual you are trying to bait into a particular positions or location. Baits most likely have an ulterior motive and because of that you need the presence of the baitee for a certain reason that probably varies from a case to case basis. Baits are a huge part of manipulating your environment and trying to get your life the way you want to be.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 47 – Rants

Rants are the acts in which you express your displeasure with a current predicament. It is usually in a public manner because at some point you can’t contain your rage or anger. There are two main ways to express anger and that is to bottle it up or let it out. I believe that bottling emotions aren’t always appropriate depending on your situation because you may not always be able to release the sense of anger that has been amassed. It is important though to recognize the boiling point at which you just can’t take anymore. When you get to this point, one little minor annoyance that you wouldn’t react greatly to can make you blow up and seem like you are taking things way out of proportion to the negative impact they have had on you. This culmination of rage and anger is unhealthy and can cause serious danger and harm to yourself and those around you when you essentially explode with rage. The point of rants is that they are a venue from which you can vent. When you rant you are blowing off steam. It is believed that by ranting you reduce stress and I think that we can all attest that it feels much better internally once you release all that pent up anger that stress has caused. There have been different studies used to prove these beliefs but it has been theorized that in the long run your self esteem will become depleted as you continue to try and release stress. The thing with ranting is that it isn’t solving the solution it is just trying to evade the problem but it won’t go away unless you actively try to solve it yourself. An important part of ranting is allowing others to understand your troubling situation. Ranting is usually done in front of an audience or a crowd whether it be multiple people or just a close personal friend. Ranting is also only one form of trying to reduce the negative emotions that pop up inside of all of us during some point in our lives. If you rant to others you make it apparent to friends and family that you require some help and possibly have others actively attempt to life your spirits. This then allows you to realize that others care for you and it makes it known the support and reinforcement available to you. You can then take advantage of it in the future whenever you need help.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 46 – Understandings

Understandings are basically how well you can realize the existence and purpose of what is presented to you. You also need to be able to realize their methods in order to make life easier to live for yourself. If you understand what is going on, it can reveal the truth and thus create a comfortable situation for you. You will worry if you don’t know exactly what’s going on in a situation that you care about. By understanding what is going on, the barriers that would potentially halt progression are removed. A particular instance in which this applies is school. We go by trying to learn and understand the concepts taught by our teachers in different subjects such as math and science and if we don’t know it well enough, we tend to worry when it comes time to be tested on our knowledge. When you are aware of what is going on, it is essentially saying that you have a full grasp on the information being presented to you. In order to do so you need to completely be aware of almost every aspect of what you are trying to understand like how the topic at hand operates and the affects they have on life and in particular, your life. A good way to increase that amount of topics from which you are comfortable with is to ask questions. Questions are a huge way to increase understanding because you are inquisitive and thus take the actions to reveal any potentially obscured points. If you are on the transmitting end of spreading knowledge, you need to know your target audience in order to maximize the amount of people who will fully understand what you are saying or the point you are trying to advocate. It is important to recognize that not everyone will understand the same things mainly stemming from an individualized perspective on life. What a PhD in Med School knows about medicine, a little kid probably still hasn’t even recognized the concept of medicine. To make your point widely accessible to the general public, you need to make your point clearly identifiable. If you want others to understand and thus realize or relate to the point you have to make, you need to make it as concrete and obvious as possible. In life it is impossible for you to understand everything that is going on but there is a negative consequence to this. Misunderstandings and confusion will likely ensue if you are unsure of a particular topic. Because of this, collaboration or progression becomes stunted and it has the potential to waste tons of resources like time and money. Being on the same page increases the flow of productivity and thus the advancement of society. Having an understanding of the world or the topic you are working with removes obscurity and gives you a directed path to work on in order to improve your future as well as the lives of others.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 45 – Pity

Pity is the feeling you get when you feel sorry for other’s misfortunes. You in a sense share in the emotions or suffering of others and in a way where you can try to understand what others are going through. The way people intend to deal with their pity is completely up to their personality and the different aspects that make up their collective being. The two main options I can think of off the top of my head are watching from afar or actively trying to help those who are currently in a terrible predicament. Depending on your relationship with said individual, that will determine how you choose to deal with and potentially assist them or not. If it is a complete stranger, you may not necessarily help them out as much as you would a friend depending on the situation. You may not necessarily know what you can do in a situation however, especially if it is drastic. You will probably feel helpless in situations where you can’t provide any recognizable help. If you can’t think of anything specific to make others feel better, just being there and your presence helps some if you are in good standing with the individual. The important thing to remember is that what they go through will never mean as much unless it happens to you directly. You may try to empathize and share their pain but you can’t always fully relate to how another person’s situation is playing out. Having pity isn’t exclusive to external objects but can also be internal as well. Having self pity for yourself is a common thing because every once in a while we all feel sad about what is currently going on in our lives. Some negative event can take place that ruins our moods and causes some to feel, maybe even subconsciously, a sense of pity on ourselves. First hand experiences are always the most impactful ones on your life because you then form a basis on how you view the world because of experiencing certain events. These events transform how you feel, what you do, and what you will end up doing in the future. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 44 – Enough

Getting enough means that you have as much as necessary and have an adequate amount that is sufficient for the purpose and task at hand. I personally believe it is for the most part a great place to be because you are completely satisfied with what you currently have. The only exception is that you have had enough of a particular thing for the simple fact that it is annoying you. You would get enough of a behavior, action, etc. in order to prevent future instances of that something happening again. If your little brother is portraying behavior that you would classify as annoying like poking you repeatedly or being loud and obnoxious you would tell them you’ve had enough and to stop. For this purpose though, it is the amount at which you are satisfied with and you personally feel like there is no more that needs to be added or less that needs to be removed. I like to think of it as being just the right amount like with Goldilocks and the 3 bears; it isn’t at the extremes but just the right amount. The only problem is that it is sometimes hard to attain these “perfect” amounts because of the limitations and restrictions life puts on us. There are different bars set by each individual that they use to determine what is satisfactory to them that probably will contrast with the general public. What you want and how much you want of it probably won’t be the same as your next door neighbor. It is important to realize that while your bars have the possibility of being reached, they may not all be realized because of the current predicaments that you are in. There aren’t infinite resources in the world and because of that you can’t always get exactly what you want. This makes it imperative that you are appreciative of what you have and accepting of what you do get. This could be transformed into a good thing however, because if you know you won’t always have more gas to use in the future or other things that you cherish in life, you will start to respect them more and treat/use them appropriately. This can also apply to the belief that too much of a good thing can be bad. You may love eating candy but you will eventually get sick of it and it has the potential to cause cavities. While it may be sad to realize that things eventually wear out, including people, the emotions associated with that become diluted with time. You will soon forget that you don’t have any more Kit Kat bars to chew on but you may move on to some healthy carrots instead! (yea right) While I was joking about that previous example it does highlight and important action in life, trying new things. Even though you may have “enough,” and that enough is defined by you, you should never get complacent of where you are in life. It is imperative that you never get enough or get tried of improving your life because I don’t believe there ever is a limit on that. You can never get enough of success and you should always strive to achieve it.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 41 – Obviousness

Something that is obvious is characterized as being easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind. The ideas and concepts as well as objects and events that are made apparent in ways that would gain the attention of its audience especially in a dramatic way would be considered as being obvious. Something is obvious when it is recognized by the general public. They are usually only obvious when there is background knowledge about that particular topic because without a basis of understanding for what’s going on you can’t be expected to know something that is supposedly “obvious.” If there is a reference to a popular TV show or a major event happened, you can then categorize something as being obvious. The only problem with these generalizations is that everyone has different perspectives on life. What one person make think is totally obvious may go completely unnoticed by another. They may not watch football so it is not obvious to them what teams are going to be great this season. You need some basis and facts about a given situation in order to determine what can be considered as obvious to one but maybe not the other. If you are the one who doesn’t notice something you may get left out and possibly miss opportunities like in conversations if you can relate to another person about football you have the potential to become good friends if you aren’t already. If you are ignorant of what is apparently obvious you are contributing to your obliviousness. If you are completely lost, teasing and making fun of your ignorance will most likely ensue. The good thing is that once you become aware of what is going on around you, it becomes easy to be brought back up to speed. The only thing is that the damage has already been done and the very act that you didn’t know that something that is common knowledge will cause you to be made fun of for many times to come. I still get flack from thinking that Virginia was north of us from 1st grade.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 43 – The Unknown

The great unknown is pretty much anything that doesn’t have any familiarity associated with it. From areas of land to concepts, anything where little info or knowledge is aware about a particular topic can be considered to be unknown. It is basically having a void that can only be filled by learning about it. What we know builds our perception of life. What we believe to be the truth forms our own personalized form of reality from which we live by. We may not always live the same way and this is because we all see the world from a different life and this is partially because we all know the world differently. Knowing the world helps create comfort and the ability to prepare allows you to feel some control over your current predicament. I would have to say that knowing the truth of a given situation can allow you to be prepared and thus feel more confident in how things will play out and your role in the way the world works. A lack of control over a situation can potentially lead to depression. I remember learning in Psychology class about how a belief that you have no control and your actions don’t play a role or have any impact in how the future will transpire and means that you will probably suffer some sort of depression. The unknown almost always has the characteristic of being mysterious. Embracing it can be a huge part in discovering the mystery involved in life. Some people refuse to explore the dark voids of life and by doing so they can sometimes in a sense be refusing to view the inner depths of themselves as well. Others are willing to tackle it head on looking for an adventure. The mystery in life can cause emotions of fear or even curiosity and those reactions are again all based on individuals like would you be running away from it or want to run out and discover it. The more that we find out as time progresses the more we realize that there is so much in the world that we don’t know about yet. We don’t even recognize the extent to what we don’t know. Science tries to explain it but our perception of life is hiding things from us like dark matter and other topics that are still shrouded in mystery. We humans want to live concrete lives but certain things are unexplainable and accepting it can make your life easier because of ignorance and lack of worries that will accompany them. The only thing is that the greatest discoveries in life that have advanced society spawn from an interest in shedding light on what is unknown.

-Allan Nicholas

Phun-size Philosophy # 42 – Is Honesty the Best Policy

Our parents at a young age try to instill values and morals in us that will make us be the most successful individuals and be a productive member of society. We are always told to tell the truth but there are plenty of people in the world who don’t heed those words. People everyday lie and steal to get where they need to go. If you get caught then you will suffer the consequences but there are still plenty of people who get away with their immoral actions (*cough *cough* OJ Simpson *cough*). When trying to determine if honesty is the best policy you need to check how honest you are yourself in life. In all honesty (pun intended : P) we have all told a lie at some point in our life. The reasoning behind each lie and the severity of each one will vary on a case by case basis but all of them bend or mask the truth in some shape or form. There are so many reasons for why someone would lie like because you want to make someone feel better or avoid punishment. In many other situations, lies can save hassle like you lie just because it is much easier to get on with your life than going through the time consuming process of having to explain the situation appropriately. They can also save feelings and help make situations more comfortable for all those involved. We have all heard of white lies used to soothe and consul your friends and family. As much as lies can help they can potentially do more harm and if people find out about it you will lose so much more than anything you could possibly gain by lying. You will lose credibility trust with almost everyone else. Lies are used to mask the truth and it can be imperative at points in life where you need to know the truth in order to have a happy and successful future. It helps keep people safe and by being aware of what’s going on you can plan for the future. If you are completely unaware of what’s going on you can possibly be put into harm that could be completely avoided. We all want the truth but is life easier without it? Ignorance can in fact be blissful because some things are hurtful to hear but living a lie isn’t a good thing either. You need to determine for yourself on a case by case basis whether it is worth it to tell the truth or not. While there may be occasions every once in a while that may be easier to deal with if you lie about them, as a general rule you should always tell the truth. In no way shape or form am I condoning behaviors like lying and stealing. The philosophy of telling the truth is very interesting and thought provoking and motivations behind them are a driving factor in how people interact with each other and how society works.

-Allan Nicholas