90 Days of ILP

After a long weekend with a friend from out of town, it was all I could do yesterday evening to just sit and watch AMC's Godfather marathon. Bad move, according to a recent post on the geek blog Creating Passionate Users which outlines the role that exposing oneself to negative/angry people can have on the brain. The post references the recent discovery of mirror neurons, which activate in the same way while watching someone doing something as if you were doing it yourself. In this light, by exposing myself to the despicable likes of doomed hothead Sonny Corleone or conniving Miami slime Hyman Roth for hours on end, I was actually creating mafioso neurons in my own brain!

The Angry/negative post came hot on the heels of Microsoft uber-blogger Robert Scoble announcing that he would be moderating his comments (unthinkable!). Says Bob: "Yes, I am now approving every comment here. And I will delete any that don't add value to either my life or the lives of my readers." In so doing, Scoble is nobly trying to protect himself from the "emotional contagions" capable of being spread by "people who are deeply unhappy".

What does this mean for practitioners of ILP?

One immediate reaction is this: if we remove ourselves from the life paths of "deeply unhappy people", are we not both a) perpetuating their unhappiness, and b) acting out of fear? Doesn't this smack of a lack of compassion? Aren't we just continuing in the Boomeritis tradition of shallow, unengaged narcissism, dooming others to their lot in life in order to serve our own growth?

Think of all the angry/negative people you have in your life. I can think of at least a half-dozen in my own. Are they helping you give your gift to the world? Are they preventing you from loving, and being, more? Is there something you can do for them? Is there a way you can be with them without succumbing to their lowest-common-denominator permanent frown?

Now think about the "happy" people in your life, not so much the oblivious "it's all good bro!" hippie down the street, but the people with a realistic, impersonal view of the world who choose the path of positivity and optimism without blinding themselves to the harsh realities of our world. People who know what they are capable and not capable of, people who don't blame others, who give their best and hold the world to a high moral standard.

Who would you rather be with? Who should you be with?

[PS: Comments have been quiet as of late, gimme a shout-out if so inclined if you've read this far, thanks!]