One of the most valuable lessons I learned in life is maintaining a balance on everything. Never going too far in one direction, and stopping to consider the consequences of the decisions that I made in the past.

I often have seen that qualities that people have which are a strength can be their weakness. In a reality show I watched once, I saw a creative man who could see possibilities in the things people threw away and he kept them. He had a noble intention to fix them and sell them, or give them away, but it got lost in all his other “projects”. His creative side allowed him to create things that didn’t exist, but he lacked the discipline and focus to carry through with the multitude of ideas he had.

The most helpful thing that I have found to be balanced is to stop and consider how my actions are affecting my reality. The things that make me happier in both short and long-term ways, I want to continue. If something makes me feel bad in short and long-term consequences then I don’t want to continue that. What surprises me about others is that I see others do things that don’t make their short or long-term happier, and indeed make their reality worse. It is sometimes hard to see where the satisfaction for their behavior comes in. Sometimes with friends I have asked them why they do certain things and they can’t explain it. I think that if you can’t explain how something makes your life better, it’s probably making it worse.

I think that deep down people know what is right and helpful to their life, but that they rationalize things away. I think the most helpful thing you can do for someone else is just to listen and remind them of the wisdom they already know.