Beginning the Change from Self Deprecation to Understanding and Removal of Negative Ideology

I often wondered what it would take to remove the negative self and place the positive self above it, without ego. It is harder than one can understand. Often, people suggest that money can buy happiness because with a vast array of riches, you can embark on a quest to buy anything that will make you happy. Here is the underlying problem: we are being lied to.

What do I mean by that previous sentiment? Well, delve into society and what do you find? Money. Greed. Capitalism. Corporate doctrines. Etc. These things are crucial to understanding a big problem. Recently, I have discovered that having lots of items or money does not lead to my happiness. It leads to a momentary speck of pleasure that is brief and not long lasting. Well, what do I do then? It is simple, buy more. Why? Because it is the only thing that gives me, what I feel is happiness. This is a common problem with capitalistic societies, like Britain and America.

We are bombarded with imagery that imply horrific things. For example, you are fat, this makes you ugly so buy this to become thinner and feel better. You need to buy these items to look good and attract people. You need these pieces of technology to be amused and have fun. These are but a few examples. What is the purpose of this? To get you to spend money to have short bursts of momentary pleasure that make you feel good. However, this is not the way. Pleasure is not the same as happiness. Pleasure lasts but moments, and happiness should exist for years, if not forever. So, how do we go from understanding pleasure, separating that idea and accepting the true means of happiness?

It is both difficult and simplistic at the same time. First of all, one must understand what separates pleasure from happiness, and identify that the "want" of something is not essential for your happiness, but your personal pleasure. Once one has disassociated pleasure from happiness, then one must first understand the self. The self is not to say the ego. The egoistic self can be rather destructive and this is not the self you should aim to be. But the true self works with compassionate natures and aims to be the identifier that you are meant to be. To analyse oneself is a rather arduous task. Not because it is innately difficult, but because it is not what society wants, nor capitalism. You have to remain docile and complicit to allow their benefit at the expense of our own happiness.

Perhaps many of you do not know how to analyse yourself as it is not something easy to do. Do not fear as many of us do not quite understand this process. So, how do we go about attaining the self and understanding it? Well, you have to dive into yourself and analyse yourself from within. You have to consider emotions, thoughts, and the things that make you who you are. Then, you have to consider whether these things are a façade to yourself/others or not. Truly analyse yourself. If you discover something about yourself that makes you feel uncomfortable, then you are on the path to understanding perhaps a part of the destructive self which you can change. (If you wish to seek more advice on how to improve the self, look into Johari's Window for more detail).

So, you will need to accept that within a capitalistic society, the things that are sold or told are arbitrary lies. We must aim to understand the self, move beyond ego and remove the boundaries of disillusionment between pleasure and happiness. To be at peace with the self, to understand the self, and to allow the self to flourish, that is the true beginning to understanding the true meaning of happiness within the world.

Remember, you are never alone, for everyone seeks happiness. If you ever need anything, someone to speak to or advice on anything, speak to someone. Show compassion and understand the self. Should any of you require further depth into this idea, do not hesitate to ask me.