A prejudice that I have

I have noticed within myself a certain prejudice that sometimes prevents me from fully enjoying otherwise great experiences. When I tell you what it is, you may not think it is important. But, it does have an impact on my life. When reading a book or watching a movie I strongly dislike it when that part of the story ends on a cliffhanger.

In my mind, each individual component (book or movie) should be a complete story on its own with a satisfying climax and resolution to all the important story points. I understand that due to timing constraints it is not realistic to have everything the author intends to say done in such a fashion and I do not mind that longer story arcs are broken down into smaller segments.

It just bothers me when the main focus of the story is not completed within one book or when a movie ends in the middle of a tense scene. Take the Matrix series, for example. Taken individually, each movie is great. There's plenty of eye candy everywhere, explosions and other special effects, attractive people and martial arts galore. The music is great. The plot is engaging and the philosophical aspects are just wow. But the second movie ends right in the middle of a tense scene and I hated it. All my friends love all three movies. But I just have not been able to get past the ramping up that the movie does only to end with a ...to be continued.

When the second movie came out, I knew it was part of a trilogy. I knew the whole story would not be told by the end of the second movie. But, a part of me always expects to have a complete tale told in each movie and to have all the movies tie together to tell a bigger complete story altogether.

Now in contrast let's look at the Lord of the Rings movies. Each one has all of the same things that make the Matrix series great. They have dazzling special effects,gorgeous scenery, attractive charismatic characters, great plot and music. Each series tells two totally different stories, but the formula for their success is very similar. There is a ...to be continued in the Lord of the Rings as well. But it is right after a major battle and there is a natural breaking point where there is nothing "important" going on.

When I was a teenager I had a habit of going to the library and checking out two or three dozen sword and sorcery novels at a time. Many of them were books that were part of a series. Sometimes I ended up reading them out of order because I was unable to find book one or book three. I disliked not knowing what was going on because important elements to understanding what was going on in the book I was reading were in a previous book. I think this is where my idea that a single book or movie should be a complete story and that further books in the series should just be a continuation of said story. I have almost always been dissatisfied when a story is not self contained so to speak. 

One problem that I have with looking at things this way, is that expecting things to be a specific way is another way of saying that you assume they will be that way. One of the main rules that I run my life by is to not make assumptions. Invariably, once one makes assumptions and begins acting on them negative things follow.

The other problem with seeing things this way is that there is a preconceived notion that is stealing my enjoyment of otherwise great content.

It is my intention to enjoy every movie I watch and every book I read. If I am not going to enjoy a movie or book, then the time, energy and money that went into making that viewing or reading happen are all wasted. I do not enjoy wasting my time. So I will instead put energy into removing this prejudice as it does not serve me in any useful fashion.

Wolf or sheep

When you are a kid, all through grade school and throughout high school people tell you what to expect throughout your life. Parents, teachers, even other kids tell you how it's gonna be. They tell you what you can and can not do with your life.

Life is hard. The economy is bad. Corporations don't want people, they want wage slaves. You can't trust the other gender.  It has never been harder to find work than it is right now.

At the rate things are going you will never be able to buy a house.  Well intentioned people say things like this all the time. Why?

Other people want you to be prepared for the challenges that life has to offer. They mean well, but what is really happening when they do this? What they are actually doing, without realizing it, is preconditioning you to have the kinds of experiences that they are telling you about.  They are ensuring that you live a life of mediocrity. There are certain facets of life that are common no matter where you look. It is not fair however to take a bright, fresh, young mind  and hamper it with all of these beliefs, to stick those things to you whether you want them or not.

If you trust and believe the people that are telling you these things about your life, then the circumstances of your life will be molded by these things. You will never trust the other gender. You will know that all corporations are evil, have a hard time finding a job, make barely enough money to get by and struggle to ever own a home.

What gives other people the right to mess up kids that way? What gives them the right to tell you what YOUR life is going to be like? The simple answer is nothing. They are telling you that life is a certain way. What they mean is that their lives are that way. All these well meaning people are just telling you about the limitations that they have allowed their belief system to impose on their lives.

Read that again.  the limitations that they have allowed their belief system to impose on their lives.
Our beliefs either limit or unlimit us. How does this happen? Mostly, it occurs through subconscious agreement of limiting statements. We trust and believe the sincerity of the people that are speaking to us and we do not really think about what they are saying. A fact could be as simple as there are more homeless people out there  currently than at any other point in US history. The story that people make up about that fact is that it is difficult to get and maintain a home. The truth of the matter is easy or difficult is a value judgement that each person decides for themselves. But what they tell you is that you will have a hard time getting a home. And you believe them. So when the time comes you struggle to get a home. If there was no preconceived expectation, if there was no reason to believe that it would be difficult, then it might not turn out to be true for you. With no expectation there is unlimited possibility. It could be easy, somewhat challenging or very difficult. But once your mind latches on to the negative words of others that you trust, the only possibility becomes the harder path.

How can this be avoided? I mean people are always going to be giving their two cents. You can not feasibly just tell them all to shut up and stop ruining your life. What you can do though is to politely acknowledge their viewpoint but decide that their belief is not going to impose the same results on you. It is your life and you are the author, not them. Take what they are saying with a grain of salt. Yes, the housing market may be in turmoil but your credit score is say 750 or you have a great job or maybe you have or intend to devise a plan to prevent this from being an issue.

Bottom line, appreciate the sentiment. Don't buy into the bullshit. I say again, unlimit yourself