A short YouTube mini-chapter by Brian Johnson (A Philosopher's Notes) arguing that personal ideals should function as guiding stars rather than distant shores. Johnson encourages perfectionists to become 'optimalists'—working within real-world constraints to steadily improve—and cites Tal Ben-Shahar and Carl Rogers to support the view that the good life is a process and a direction, not a fixed destination.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian with another mini chapter from A Philosopher's Notes. This one's called Guiding Stars and Distant Shores. Are you like me, a perfectionist? If so, please sit up straight and pay attention. I think you'll really like this one. You know those ideals you have for yourself, all the things you want to be and just know you could be if you really live with integrity and mojo and all the divine virtue you're capable of rocking. Well, Talban Shahar. Yeah, him again. I told you he's one of my favorites these days. Tells us it's a lot healthier to imagine those ideals as guiding stones stars and not as distant shores we may someday reach. Fact is, we perfectionists with those uber silly at times goals are never gonna get there. Where the heck is there anyway? Those ideals, they're guiding stars, not, I Repeat, distant shores. P.S. tahl calls perfectionists who get the above wisdom optimalists. They deal with the constraints of their reality to optimize their lives rather than try to create the impossibly perfect. It's really powerful stuff. PPS psychologist Carl Rogers described it this the good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. How beautiful is that? So there you go. Remember, our ideals are guiding stars, not distant shores. Hope you enjoyed. Here's to being optimalists rather than perfectionists. As always, have an awesome day. Look forward to sharing more with you soon. See you.
