I want...

I want so many things I don't even know where to begin. I want to sell my house, I want to move permanently and full time into my new house. I want to eat healthier. I want to feel sexy. I want to establish an exercise routine. I want to re-do my 1st floor bathroom in my new house. I want to be a mom. I want to read more. I want to write more. I want to like what I write and how I write. I want to publish the children's book I wrote a few years back. I want to travel more. I want to cook more. I want to make more friends. I want to see the friends I have now more. I want to be more wise with how I spend my money. And the list goes on and on and on.



And, yes I know I can do something about all of these. And I want that too. To be doing something about all of these. So, the question is...what stops me? What gets in my way? And, of course, the answer is "I stop me. I get in my own way."



From Wikipedia:

Ethics in psychology

By the 1960s there was increased interest in moral reasoning. Psychologists such as Lawrence Kohlberg
developed theories which are based on the idea that moral behavior is
made possible by moral reasoning. Their theories subdivided moral
reasoning into so-called stages, which refer to the set of principles
or methods that a person uses for ethical judgment. The first and most
famous theory of this type was Kohlberg's theory of moral development.

Carol Gilligan,
a student of Kohlberg's, argued that women tend to develop through a
different set of stages from men. Her studies inspired work on an ethic of care, which particularly defines itself against Rawlsian-type justice- and contract-based approaches.

Another group of influential psychological theories with ethical implications is the humanistic psychology movement. One of the most famous humanistic theories is Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow argued that the highest human need is self-actualization, which can be described as fulfilling one's potential, and trying to fix what is wrong in the world. Carl Rogers's
work was based on similar assumptions. He thought that in order to be a
'fully functioning person', one has to be creative and accept one's own
feelings and needs. He also emphasized the value of self-actualization.
A similar theory was proposed by Fritz Perls, who assumed that taking responsibility of one's own life is an important value.

R.D. Laing developed a broad range of thought on interpersonal psychology.
This deals with interactions between people, which he considered
important, for an ethical action always occurs between one person and
another. In books such as The Politics of Experience, he dealt with
issues concerning how we should relate to persons labeled by the
psychiatric establishment as "schizophrenic".
He came to be seen as a champion for the rights of those considered
mentally ill. He spoke out against (and wrote about) practices of psychiatrists which he considered inhumane or barbaric, such as electric shock treatment. Like Wittgenstein, he was frequently concerned with clarifying the use of language in the field — for example, he suggested that the effects of psychiatric drugs (some of which are very deleterious, such as tardive dyskinesia)
be called just that: "effects", and not be referred to by the preferred
euphemisms of the drug companies, who prefer to call them "side
effects". Laing also did work in establishing true asylums as places of
refuge for those who feel disturbed and want a safe place to go through
whatever it is they want to explore in themselves, and with others.

A third group of psychological theories that have implications for the nature of ethics are based on evolutionary psychology.
These theories are based on the assumption that the behavior that
ethics prescribe can sometimes be seen as an evolutionary adaptation.
For instance, altruism towards members of one's own family promotes one's inclusive fitness.

Moral ethics. Yep, that's what I want more of.



There's some food for thought for you.

(And me too!)





The truth is, I've known about ethics and integrity and self actualization for a very long time. I've been in therapy for many years. Jeez, I am a therapist. With all that said, I still want and want and want. At least now my wants are in my control. It's not like what I used to want...to be taller for example. That I can do nothing about. All the things I mentioned above that I want are all things that I can do and am doing something about. Sometimes I get impatient however. Like now. But then I remind myself that acquiring all the things I want is a life-long journey. And every day I get closer and closer to feeling satisfied.

Powered by ScribeFire.