"Life's What You Make It"

[888]

what do you make of that statement?

because it always really bothers me that people think there's any truth in it, indeed it makes me suspect a streak of social darwinism/libertarianism in them.

but am i just being over-negative?

It's inane and doesn't account for huge external factors. But rejecting it seems like rejecting the idea you have any choice whatsoever, which you do.

 

[Dubversion]

But rejecting it seems like rejecting the idea you have any choice whatsoever, which you do.

i don't think rejecting implies anything such thing. the statement - as inane as it is - is also fairly absolute. it's not 'life is in part what you make it', or 'given the right breaks, life might turn out to be what you make it'.

so to reject doesn't imply there is no choice, simply the statement's assertion that choice is almost in a sense all there is

 

[SubZeroCat]

I voted inane, it's also unrealistic IMO.

It's only true to a certain extent but as a sole statement it's rubbish, there are loads of externel factors to consider.

 

[tastebud]

It's inane and doesn't account for huge external factors. But rejecting it seems like rejecting the idea you have any choice whatsoever, which you do.

a simple but effective statement.
vixens conclusion:
life is what you make it is a rubbish quote, but is not as bad as this:
life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans- i hate that one! unsurprising really, given the creator of the quote

i have searched high and low but cannot find anything satisfactory (for me personally - yet!)... but i guess that is part of what life is all about: searching & learning... (my life, anyway)

->however, i have always loved this one: i love my past. i love my present. i'm not ashamed of what i've had, and i'm not sad because i have it no longer.

 

[Masseuse]

Is the after-life what you make it?

 

[Lock&Light]

->however, i have always loved this one: i love my past. i love my present. i'm not ashamed of what i've had, and i'm not sad because i have it no longer.

I like that expression too. Sounds sensible.

 

[tastebud]

Is the after-life what you make it?

dying is a very dull dreary affair and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it.

sorry. i'll stop now.

 

[Poi E]

Yes, but I'd still say they're generally having a tougher time of it.. You obviously do influence what sort of 'time you're having' etc. but err, to use cliche, some people have a hell of an easier hand to play/deal with.

Oh sure. What I meant is that in the context I referred to it gives an indication of some sort of philosophical fortitude on the part of the person bearing up to the strain.

 

[ZWord]

I put right-wing, but I reckon it's true in a way.. Positive thinking and awareness can have a transformative effect on your environment.

 

[mentalchik]

I hope its not true because that means that the mess i find myself in is completely all my own fault .............


as if i didn't have enough guilt !

 

[MysteryGuest]

I'll tell you one thing - nobody said that life was fair.

 

[Masseuse]

It'll all come out in the wash though.

 

[MysteryGuest]

Anyway, I'm wary of any system of thought that doesn't allow for luck. Though I would say that to some extent you create your own luck and it's easy to get a victim mentality but not realising to what extent, and to what depth, your attitudes, your mental scripts, change your life. So it's more a matter of "life is making the most of the cards you have been dealt".


<puts 'Deck of Cards' on the stereogram>

 

[MysteryGuest]

Also, as Wittgenstein put it, it's a funny old world when you think about it. So true, Ludwig, so true.

 

[Masseuse]

Life is what your witchy woman decides it will be.

 

[bluestreak]

sometimes life can be as good as you make it, but there are far too many other things that have the power to really fuck it up or make it great without you actually doing much.

when i was a young depressive people used to say that to me all the time, which i used to loathe. of course, back then i did mope far more than was healthy, whereas now i've learned to battle through it a bit more, but none the less, blaming a person with shit luck, depression, or whatever reasons you've got for not making life good is pretty bollocks.

so i voted naive - life is only what you make it for those that can make it what they want. but inane was second on the list.

 

[shoddysolutions]

"Life is what you make it" is a naive statement, as it completely ignores the reality of external constraints, be they social, economic, geograhical, moral or whatever.

Although we are not completely free to determine our own choices there is a grain of truth in the statement because while we cannot always control what happens to us, we do have the power to change our perception of it.

So I think it's naive, but not an outright falsehood.

 

[mentalchik]

I'll tell you one thing - nobody said that life was fair.

Oh gawd, that's one of my favourites...........



my kids even put their hands over their ears when they know its coming !

 

[MysteryGuest]

One thing you can definitely say though is that it takes all sorts to make a world.

 

[mentalchik]

What goes around, comes around..........









no it bloody well doesn't !

 

[Masseuse]

Life is what I fuckin tell you it is and that's that.

 

[MysteryGuest]

No!


This all reminds me why I made the right decision to go to the monastery, there to study spiritually uplifting manuscripts, and quietly watch the slow changing of the seasons, away from the tormenting distractions of the daughters of eve, who always seek to mislead those seeking a higher path, taking their gaze away from the heights of noble thought, by way of an outwardly seductive glamour that ultimately brings the soul down to chthonic depths, far from the noble enlightenment that is man's call.

 

[MarkMark]

"Well....Life Is What You Make It."

When what they probably mean is "you're obviously not trying hard enough are you, you c***" is very condrestencenling isn't it?

 

[tastebud]

i can't help but disagree slightly* with some of the feeling here.
of course there are so many things that we cannot control but there is an element of truth in the statement (at times- of course, for it is certainly not a definitive statement).
for example working hard at something to find that you have succeeded/achieved what you had intended.
i can't help but think the statement might ring true here, for example.
-i am a bit of a subscriber to the freudian school of thought (this does not make me right-wing, btw).
just the basic if you interpret everything negatively and constantly treat those around you in a negative way, life will feel pretty negative for the most part.
but as far as life is... quotes go, this is one of the worst.
it is not particularly creative or insightful, way too simplistic and can almost be interpreted as insulting, if said when things go wrong outside of ones control.

*and that does mean slightly, as in, just a teeny little bit... so don't scream at me, please...

 

[shoddysolutions]

If you're a spiritual leader, you can write a book called "Life is What You Make It", and a million mugs will rush out and buy it and therefore suppply enough proof to reject the null hypothesis.

If, on the other hand, you're just some poor average Jo(e), you'll have to be content with reading smug platitudes instead of writing them, or hanging around bulletin boards all day. And so it goes.

 

[tastebud]

If, on the other hand, you're just some poor average Jo(e), you'll have to be content with reading smug platitudes instead of writing them, or hanging around bulletin boards all day. And so it goes.

hmm. i smell a rat.

 

[shoddysolutions]

hmm. i smell a rat.

Eh?

 

[tastebud]

Eh?

i thought the last line was directed at me... but it doesn't matter. if it was or wasn't. i'm very rarely serious.
edit: i should be less defensive & read more vonnegut.

 

[shoddysolutions]

i thought the last line was directed at me... but it doesn't matter. if it was or wasn't. i'm very rarely serious.

No, I was merely demonstrating my liberal credentials by being non-gender specific, and my literary credentials br referencing Vonnegut.

My apologies to anyone named Jo or Joe who was offended by my last (but one) post.

 

[Pickman's model]

what do you make of that statement?

because it always really bothers me that people think there's any truth in it, indeed it makes me suspect a streak of social darwinism/libertarianism in them.

but am i just being over-negative?

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

if you think that life's not what you make it, that you cannot change certain aspects of yr life for the better, then (imvho) yr a bit of a fuckwit. obviously, there are numerous aspects of one's life where forces beyond one's control affect one. however, there are also a large number of aspects of one's life one can change, and changing them improve (or decrease) one's quality of life.

"life's what you make it" is therefore a truism, though (& worse) a cliche. i don't think it's right-wing - it seems to me that it is a reminder that you can be a fucking pinball, bashed about by the tides of life - if you want to be. or you can take control of some aspects of yr life - eg dieting, drinking less, quitting smoking, exercising &c - to improve both yr material and yr mental quality of existence.

if you'd rather be a downtrodden person all yr life, then it's very easy to mock the cliche under discussion. after all, it's easy enough to let other people run yr life - yr boss (or the dole), yr partner, yr mates - many people go through life without ever having an original or interesting thought and without ever even considering reaching out for the stars and trying to attain some better existence. of course, by a better existence i don't necessarily mean a better economick existence, rather a better and more fulfilling life which can be achieved in a variety of ways without having to shit on other people.