Relatively recently, in terms of my life, I have made some major personal developments. Looking at things in different ways and determining what I really need and want has led to increased enjoyment and reduced stress. I have attributed these developments to the following ideas/beliefs.
This is one of Immanuel Kant's philosophies which, put more simply, states that when choosing what action to take, take the one that would be correct if everyone in your situation took that same action. I have found it particularly powerful as it is almost universally applicable in everyday life. It has improved the standard of most tasks I undertake. I'm sure this isn't the first time you've heard of this kind of idea but I urge you to really consider it. There are many tangible ways that this philosophy affected my life, I will explain two here. The first is media piracy, if everyone, universally, pirated songs, movies etc. there would be no money in the industry and thus there would be no songs, movies etc. A retort may be to say that not "everybody" does pirate media but that isn't fair. You can't say that some people paying for something makes it alright for you to have it for free. The only fair way to consider the issue is if everyone did the same thing, as Kant's idea states. Which leads to the only reasonable and fair solution to be that no one pirates media. The second example is recycling. Previously I took a fairly lax approach to recycling, I recycled the obvious things like paper, cans, glass and some plastic bottles but then I questioned whether I was fully utilising the recycling service. Based on Kant's philosophy I had to do what I would recommend everyone do. This meant researching what I could recycle more thoroughly. Now I recycle virtually all plastic bags through Coles' bag recycling scheme and I recycle most rigid plastic in the kerb side collection service as it turns out you CAN recycle them. This has noticeably cut down the amount of waste I send to landfill, a very good result especially if everyone else does follow suit.
This is one of those phrases that, at one time in my life, I would have disregarded as goody goody. I thought that you judge people on how they act and that's that. But I've come to realise it's not. Our interpretation of the reasons for people's actions are affected by our mood and more importantly by the fact that the person's actions affected US, which is probably mainly due to coincidence. If we take a moment to consider what, harmless, reasons could have led to these actions we, in my experience, normally find it is justifiable. A prime example is road rage. I, probably like most people, consider myself a good driver and a reasonable person. I have fair experience behind the wheel. I know that I have been in a hurry, been tired, been distracted and not been in the mood to drive most efficiently. Due to this I have cut people off, braked late for pedestrians, missed green lights, nearly merged on people, run red lights etc. I also know I never did any of this maliciously and certainly not for a reason that was personal to the victim. So if I consider the motive behind why someone else wronged me, I find that it's probably for a reason that I would accept and that it's almost definitely not personal. There are numerous other situations where assuming the best of people will benefit you, hopefully you are able to consider it then. As an extra note on this idea, the reduced stress and increased positivity that comes from assuming everyone is trying to do the right thing is, in itself, enough of a reason to adopt this philosophy. Even if it isn't right.
To be completed. (E.g. Unregistered vehicle fine)