Nature, Nurture, and Self-Action
A reflection that has beleaguered my mind for a while now concerns whether or not there’s something criminally overlooked with regards to explaining how we form our characters.
It seems obvious that while nature and nurture overwhelmingly shape and inform us in various ways, we also have the free will to choose what to do and what activities to fill our limited time with. Our inclinations are affected by nature and nurture, but we still fundamentally choose what to do with the time that has been given to us. There are hobbies that act intuitively magnetic to us, which is what the American writer Robert Greene accounted for by way of reference to the word vocation: while it’s a formal title for one’s occupation, its literal etymological origin is «calling».
The Japanese author Yukio Mishima in his self-biographical work «Sun and Steel» referred to a process whereby long periods of practice in martial arts helped him develop a perceptive and intuitive skill in terms of when the «feel» is precisely right for executing some combat move in a particular, smooth fashion. While there’s a lot of direct input («content») that goes into it, making it seem less «natural» or «innate», the great deal of energy, endurance and concentration expended contribute to the formation of a keen sense of immediate and razor-sharp insights into the workings of the field you are operating within.
This special knowledge acquired through exclusive focus on a specific activity, a narrow sub-field therein or a range of different pursuits help you gain sensitive ideas that progressively advance your given undertaking and competence.
So when undertaking any enterprise, remember that you can help sculpt yourself like an artisan into a form of your wish. However, take circumstances, natural limitations and a solid dose of pragmatic realism along with it; the idealistic aspect can still provide aid by fueling your passion and urges as well as help construct uplifting goals, but anything beyond that may blur your vision and prevent your seeing things as they are.
There are unavoidable things that may stand in your way as an individual, perhaps there are some realities you can or cannot do anything about due to your background, multifarious ailments, grievances, long-term illnesses etc. Worrying about what to do if you already have carved out some fields of study or interests you’re endlessly fascinated by is counterproductive. Instead it’s more worthwhile to plunge yourself into whichever project or endeavour of your choosing: research into a historical period, learning black metal on guitar by teaching yourself tremolo riffs, intriguing philosophical concepts, gardening or whatever. Decadence, inertia, laziness, idleness and general non-doing are all universal phenomena that inhibit us all at times in our lives, but to fight through the pain and discomforts of modern existence by adopting a heroic world outlook with individual agency in concert with both personal goals, contemplation and involvement in larger-than-life collective efforts to improve our societies and tackle insidiously mounting social problems is tremendously important.
When you focus on continuous progress and follow your deepest inclinations then that can foster tremendous meaning-making in your own life, and through ameliorating your existential grounding fortune will see to it, at least at times. No wonder astrologists of yore believed that particular constellations in the firmament yielded propitious or unfortunate predictions, because at some indefinably vital point in your life you will have built up so much momentum and power «sunk down» in you so that a great deal of things and hopes will begin to go your way.
Maybe the time has come for you or it has yet to do so. While you deliberate, fortify yourself with ample skills, knowledge, ideas and experiences to guard yourself against misfortunes, commit yourself to your most profound core to see what happens and thereby shift your framework of being. See what happens when you continually act deliberately, stop hesitating or living in a cesspool of excessive self-indulgement in television, video games and so on. In moderation it’s fine, but when you may discover what truly drives you, those will reveal themselves as utter timewasters. When you reach the first zenith of self-building, you will receive a transvaluation of values and priorities; your orientation will become uniform, your vision unitary and self-directing. You will gradually «sink down» and become assimilated into a mindset of knowing exactly what to do in your present situation. Clarity of mind will arise. Future ambitions will manifest themselves as extra struggles and burdens; no wonder many weak-willed or disoriented people quit.
Make yourself a useful, interesting and desirable person. Don’t put too much weight on wider social standing, just take care of yourself and maintain your friendships with your closest companions. Things will begin to go your way and opportunities will appear out of Fortune’s hand. The Law of Attraction is almost a cliche, but once you gain access to your inner powers of potential your actuality will follow suit.
Avoid the mistakes of grumbling about the past, forming complexes and self-limiting beliefs, falling into the trap of low self-esteem or squandering so much of your precious little time.
Do and act, and continue to do and act.
Doing things that make you proud backed up by a substratum of sincere self-love, not beating yourself up, being grateful and treating yourself as if you were someone responsible to take care of are exhaustingly obvious. But just start by pushing your individual agency, intuitive introspection, imagination and interests.
See what happens.
