Matthew Pallett answers “I understand his drive and callousing of...”

Marc F Dawson asked this question about Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds:

I understand his drive and callousing of his mind but is there anything he does that makes him happy? It seems as though he is obsessed with proving everyone including himself wrong. Does he do anything for the love of it? Because it makes him feel good? If like to be able to relate to that side of him since I'm not going to become a seal.

Matthew J. Pallett If you had a reasonably safe and unthreatening childhood with minimal trauma and free from too much emotional hurt, what he speaks of may simply go ov…moreIf you had a reasonably safe and unthreatening childhood with minimal trauma and free from too much emotional hurt, what he speaks of may simply go over your head. Talking therapy, as someone suggested as a possible solution here, is not always the answer. This can (and does) help a lot of people, but it is not a magic bullet.

We must understand that our definitions (and presentations) of the word "happy" can drastically alter from one person to another. Giving his absolute all to something and pushing himself to the limit of his physical and mental endurance does seem to nourish his happy.

I can completely identify with the fact there is a certain satisfaction in knowing that you have given your all all to something and, with that effort comes a similar depth of reward.

Reaching that place of maximal effort ultimately cultivates a certain sense of peace and contentment, but you must first earn it.

He is always looking to improve and, by his own admission, is "never satisfied". He does, however, consider himself happy. Maybe not your happy, maybe not 99% of people's happy, but his.

When you have adopted such a position and are introspective enough to have established why you have done that, you touch the flame of intention. As a writer myself, I have found this is something that is very hard be sufficiently recorded in words.

What I have read thus far is far more powerful than any book I've ever read. It fires me up so much, in fact, that I haven't been able to make it past the first few pages. 🙏 ❤️(less)

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