The meaning of life and philosophy

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Given some of the details you've shared elsewhere about the emotional state of your household growing up, it will be beneficial to your long term mental stability to acknowledge that whatever you are feeling is legitimate. This process will suck. But there are two points that are vital during this process:
- You do not have to act on your feelings. They will be very unpleasant, but you do not need to rage-quit your job or murder your parents to resolve these feelings.
- There is a huge pit of bitterness and despair waiting if you convince yourself that you are powerless. Feel everything deeply, but do not use these feelings as excuses for bad behaviour. Whatever you find, make a decision to move forward with healthy actions. There are many paths that will take you to worse places.
 
油井緋色;2549829 said:
Something similar happened with me and riding. I'm a far better rider than I was 4 years ago. I understand how to get faster, read books on techniques and maintenance, keep asking the racers questions, and at one point even dissected my own emotional blockage post crash. The result? Riding is not fun anymore.
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Go somewhere you can enjoy it again. Arrange a trip riding through the Smokey Mountains. The Dragon, Cherohala Skyway. Blueridge Parkway.
The vistas and scenery is amazing. You don't need to haul @ss - go for the sheer enjoyment of it.
See if you can get that feeling back.

Every weekend I teach the motorcycle safety courses there's always some person who needs to quantify things with numbers and percentages - what RPM should I shift at? What percentage of brakes should I apply when emergency stopping? Percentage of X when doing Y? They're trying to analyze riding from an engineering or mathematical equation, not understanding it's all about feel.

If you do go on a trip as suggested earlier, simply relax. Meander a bit. If that doesn't bring that "feeling" back for you, maybe it's time to hang up the helmet for a while.
 
Have you ever done some volunteer work? If not I highly recommend doing it. The reward is worth it.

And stop over analyzing everything. Maybe go with the flow, maybe you have plateaued a bit, sails lost it wind, whatever, or have the winter blues (need some sun). Life is about variety, I believe, sounds like you have had some great experiences, others are in store, just need to find that path again.

Good luck, riding season is getting close, you should be excited about it!
 
what you need is a dirt bike/supermoto/hooligan bike

You'll forget all about performance and learn about all the fun stuff
 
bigpoppa said:
I will compile a list of ideal places to live/semi retire in for the future. They must match certain parameters. Im sure this is not too much to ask.
1. Must be warm year round
2. Must be reasonably safe
3. Must be cheap enough to live off a subsistence level of trickling income

Optional: Beautiful women, beaches and nice riding roads are option but def a bonus.
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Interesting, my priorities are:
1) Beautiful Women
2) Beaches
3) Nice riding roads

Optional: safe, warm year round, must be cheap.[/Quote]

I already know where I'm going - Los Angeles California. I'll pickup a nice used liveaboard ($50K) and dock her in Marina Del Rey ($475/mo rent). Need $25K a year to live OK. I can AIRBNB a boat for $100/night, that ought to be enough to fund some extended road trips into Mexico

City life is walking distances.
Cheap flights to anywhere from LAX.
Don't need to learn a new language or how to fight exotic diseases.
 
nakkers said:
And how about the out of country healthcare? Cost isn’t cheap and not sure about the level of care?


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Ecuador is also good for that
World class and affordable care
Choice between private or public insurance
And different levels of coverage

Public option is universal full care
For 17% of your declared income
Regardless of age or health issues

It has become a popular place
For medical and dental tourism
US trained doctors and huge savings
 
Thanks for the responses Ash, BigEvilDoer, sburns, and bigpoppa. I read all of your replies and am taking the thoughtful responses to heart...except maybe the supermoto idea because I think that will just get me tickets faster lol

@BigEvilDoer

When you identify a student that is analytical to the point of it being detrimental, how have you solved this w/ the student?
 
油井緋色;2550259 said:
@BigEvilDoer
When you identify a student that is analytical to the point of it being detrimental, how have you solved this w/ the student?
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Honestly?
I tell them to get off the bike and do a funky chicken dance. I'll even lead them in it if I have to. Make them have fun and laugh.
Just something to give their mind a mental shock - in advertising, it's called a "pattern interrupt."

Motorcycling is very much like dancing - you can't learn it by numbers. i.e. 0.5 seconds left arm raise, 1 second twirl, extend foot 36.35 degrees etc. It's all about the feeling. You can hop on a bike and ride it if you understand the feel. If you hop on another identical bike, but the clutch lever is adjusted differently, well, you can't apply the same mathematical equation as you can to the clutch on bike 1.

One of my favourite things when teaching is identifying a motorcycle as a perfect pet. It does EXACTLY what you tell it to. How do you pet your puppy? Is it nice and smooth, a scratch behind the ear with a "good boy!", or do you wind up and smack it senseless whilst shouting "GOOD PUPPY! GOOD!!!" It makes people laugh when they get a mental picture. If a person starts getting frustrated with stalling, chopping throttle, dumping clutch etc, i might make a comment, "So, I see you're really enjoying kicking your puppy, aren't you?" They remember the mental image and it gives them a reset. I've had students frustrated and in tears, but making them laugh can be the magic key to suddenly having it "click".
 
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BigEvilDoer said:
Honestly?
I tell them to get off the bike and do a funky chicken dance. I'll even lead them in it if I have to. Make them have fun and laugh.
Just something to give their mind a mental shock - in advertising, it's called a "pattern interrupt."

Motorcycling is very much like dancing - you can't learn it by numbers. i.e. 0.5 seconds left arm raise, 1 second twirl, extend foot 36.35 degrees etc. It's all about the feeling. You can hop on a bike and ride it if you understand the feel. If you hop on another identical bike, but the clutch lever is adjusted differently, well, you can't apply the same mathematical equation as you can to the clutch on bike 1.

One of my favourite things when teaching is identifying a motorcycle as a perfect pet. It does EXACTLY what you tell it to. How do you pet your puppy? Is it nice and smooth, a scratch behind the ear with a "good boy!", or do you wind up and smack it senseless whilst shouting "GOOD PUPPY! GOOD!!!" It makes people laugh when they get a mental picture. If a person starts getting frustrated with stalling, chopping throttle, dumping clutch etc, i might make a comment, "So, I see you're really enjoying kicking your puppy, aren't you?" They remember the mental image and it gives them a reset. I've had students frustrated and in tears, but making them laugh can be the magic key to suddenly having it "click".
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You sound like a good teacher. Thanks for putting so much care in to the lessons your students will carry with them onto the road, it does make a huge difference.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
 
Iceman said:
You sound like a good teacher. Thanks for putting so much care in to the lessons your students will carry with them onto the road, it does make a huge difference.
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Thanks very much. I try to make it a positive experience for everyone...
 
I'm bumping this because I found the answer.

My mother used my conscience against me for 25~ years. She would threaten suicide or divorce if things did not go her way. As any intelligent human being would do, my mind protected itself by shutting off my conscience.

Over the 25 years, it became easier and easier to kill that little voice in my head telling me what the right thing to do was. This resulted in me always giving into guilty pleasures: I have cheated multiple times. I have stolen. I carried a knife on me hoping someone would rob me so I could fight back and hope they kill me. I pushed myself to get faster on the motorcycle because I wanted to die. I got into cigarettes; this list does not end.

The result of not listening to my conscience was a verbal stutter and extremely low self-esteem; how can anyone that spends their life doing things they know that are wrong have any self confidence or self esteem?

And so I found my meaning of life: I owe it to myself to fulfill my sense of duty towards my conscience. I will become the best person I can possibly become by listening to my conscience because my conscience has never once told me to do anything wrong (well, it better not, or I'll submit myself in the loony bin lol)

I can now enjoy riding for what it really was before my kamikaze mindset got out of control: to live in the moment and be grateful for everything.

SBOc45v.png


As a bit of reminder (and also because that picture is ****ing bad ***), I have set this as my wallpaper at work. The demon will always be a part of my life. Those severed heads are those who the demon trampled along the way (ex's, friends, people I hurt emotionally and manipulated.) The demon was allowed to trample because I did not pick up the sword and fight back. This is a never ending battle; one slip on concentration and I will easily let him roam free again.

Every single one of us has a demon of our own and now that I know this, I cannot bring myself to judge anyone ever again because I have spent far too long letting mine control my life.

Oh, and the best part about this? My verbal stutter is 80% gone and I have been happy for a week straight. My happiness has radiated to others who have been smiling back at me, or we end up with extended conversations about meaningful topics. Prior to this I was pretty much mute.

.......and to think society has resorted to popping pills for everything. You can't solve a disease by masking the symptoms*.

I think every single one of you that wrote in this thread, and those who I spoke to in real life contributed to this resolution. And with that, you have my most sincere thanks for getting me out of the mindset that would have undoubtfully killed me at some point (whether metaphorically, or literally.)

*I am not referring to legit chemical imbalances but i can guarantee you had I visited a psychiatrist I'd be given some pills like others whom I know. The path I took was far more painful, and too far longer to reach this conclusion...so I hope that by writing this I can reach out to some.
 
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JavaFan said:
^^ very cool story
not sure how firmly tongue was planted in cheek
but was a good read
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I can see some ppl finding the inner battle with one's demon a little lame or amusing...

...but hey, we dress like Power Rangers and go too fast so none of you are allowed to judge! lol

EDIT: And thank you for reading/contributing to this thread since the beginning.
 
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certainly not lame
and if you were perhaps more candid than I guessed
then amused is still a pretty good outcome

btw, I only had the patience for 18 years of it
but still escaped not completely unscathed
 
Riceburner said:
Congrats on finding YOUR answers. Hopefully many more find THEIRS.
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Thank you. I do hope anyone else struggling with this finds their answers as well. Funny enough, I talked to someone who was from Iraq yesterday. He left his home country due to seeing too much bloodshed when younger (he did not talk about his parents sadly...)

He came here broke and thought Canada would the answer. Instead he was judged because, well, we're all kinda racist and *******-y. He struggled with the exact same problems I had within himself and found extremely similar answers through a different pathway.

It was an eye opening experience that two people who never knew each other up until yesterday somehow arrived at very similar conclusions and life became so much better after. So for everyone who said to change my perspective...well...you were damn right lol
 
That's good stuff.

Keep in mind that you've had ~25 years to build your old mindset, and those neural pathways are well established. The euphoria will eventually wear off, and you will have emotional setbacks and sh!tty days. It really does take practice to adopt a new outlook. I don't say this to be discouraging, but to reaffirm that things will continue to get better and better if you stick with it.
 
Ash said:
That's good stuff.

Keep in mind that you've had ~25 years to build your old mindset, and those neural pathways are well established. The euphoria will eventually wear off, and you will have emotional setbacks and sh!tty days. It really does take practice to adopt a new outlook. I don't say this to be discouraging, but to reaffirm that things will continue to get better and better if you stick with it.
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Thank you for you thoughtful reply and genuine concern.

I am aware of this as well and expect to have some "boss battles" in the near future. I have created 9 maxims that I recite every morning for around 15 minutes in order to drill into my head how I should live.

I am also taking a bit of time every night to reflect on my day, and be honest with which scenarios I may have allowed the demon to resurface, and which scenarios I won.

I will stay humble because I know I am human and I will sometimes fail; failure breeds humility and through humility I can control my ego.

So you are not being discouraging at all, you are simply stating the reality of things =)
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