Paradoxical Commandments

[Foxman49]

I found this a few days ago (via the Internet of course) just curious what other people think.

The Paradoxical Commandments:

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

 

[doncarlzone]

Here are some responses out of my ass.

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

We all are to some extend anyway? Since we have no problems forgiving ourselves, why shouldn't we forgive others too? Is the paradox that we forgive ourselves?

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
Love them anyway.

If the first statement was the absolute truth. "Good" could not be defined as "Good" anymore.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If by that definition of success, you win false friends and true enemies, then perhaps one need to reevaluate the definition of success?

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

This just implies a desperate need for approval.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

I see nothing wrong with being vulnerable, quite the opposite actually.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

I'd need a definition on "thinking big" to comment on this.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

Fair observation.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

There is only one way for something to be build.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Ok I am getting bored of this.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Did Homer Simpson write this?

 

[Hawkeye]

The whole point of commandments is to act as a guide to becoming a "good" person.

They're not paradoxical because they ignore external influences, i.e., it doesn't matter what anyone else is doing.

 

[Foxman49]

The whole point of commandments is to act as a guide to becoming a "good" person.

They're not paradoxical because they ignore external influences, i.e., it doesn't matter what anyone else is doing.

Yeah the name didn't jive with me either, but I figured I should just keep the name I found it with.

 

[Hadoblado]

It seems a lovely sentiment, but not very practical.

 

[Jennywocky]

They're not paradoxical because they ignore external influences, i.e., it doesn't matter what anyone else is doing.

Yup. Some of them don't deal directly with people, but what they all do deal with is doing what you believe needs to be done regardless of how people respond. That's not a bad maxim.

It might all be summed in, "Do what you think makes sense / is right, regardless of what anyone else does or says." That's real autonomy.

 

[just george]

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

Love isn't based in judgement.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

Do good for your own reasons.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

Be discriminating.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

You're the only one who will remember it, so do good for your own reasons.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

Learn to fight.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

Don't listen to small minded people.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

Be the top dog.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

Temporary success is better than completely absent success.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Be discriminating.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Good people say thanks. Ingrates kick you in the teeth. Ingrates outnumber good people. Learn who to ignore

 

[SpaceYeti]

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

That's simply not true, though. Frank Honesty makes you awesome.

 

[redbaron]

I think the overarching point of this is that you should do what is, 'right' because it's important. Like how telling the truth might get you into trouble, but you should do it anyway because honesty is important.

Or how being successful generally attracts people attracted to your success and not you (false friends), as well as people who genuinely despise you because of your success - yet you shouldn't be afraid to succeed for fear of this.

Can't be bothered extrapolating on all of them, they're worded rather vaguely (poorly?), yet they still have a truthful and practical underlying rationale.

That's simply not true, though. Frank Honesty makes you awesome.

You're a moron.

Now everyone knows I'm awesome