5 “Ideals” that are Influencing You

Summary: Our daily decision making, thoughts, and emotions are somehow derived from these very everyday ideals. Its like a dictionary in your mind who’s definition you have to read or define.

You most likely think that you are unique. Better yet, not the status quo or average.

You live day-to-day thinking that you know why and how you make decisions and feel about them.

However, after the last post on ideal of procrastination, I began to make a list of other ideals that influence my life.

To my surprise, almost every aspect of our lives are dictated by ideals.

Categories of Ideals that Influence Us

1. Beauty: Studies after studies have proven that men and women are attracted to partners with the most “golden ratio”. Despite of what we might like to believe, we are attracted to a very specific kind of physical beauty. Furthermore, we each define beauty differently. It could be physical, social, or emotional.
2. Work: We expect work to be easy yet rewarding. We dislike being given vague instructions but yet we want to become leaders. We dislike excessive work yet we want to be promoted.
3. Happiness: We seem to use it in everyday conversations but yet do not have a concrete definition for it. Is it really the happiest day of your life?
4. Success: We aim to be successful in our lives but yet do not know what that truly means. Financial, family, social or professional success?
5. Love: “I love you”. What does that truly mean? What do you try to express when you say that? Is it to a friend, family, or a loved one? What do you expect in return for “love”?

The above list is not exhaustive but rather contemplative.

Our daily decision making, thoughts, and emotions are somehow derived from these very ideals. Its like a dictionary in your mind who’s definition you have to read or define.

Lessons Learned

Going forward, I aim to be more self-aware of such ideals. Doing so will help one communicate with oneself clearly and minimize biases in daily decision making.