The Paradox Of Our Dark Side

The dark triad of personality consists of narcissism (self-importance), Machiavellianism (strategic exploitation and deceit), and psychopathy (callousness and cynicism).

We are all at least a little bit narcissistic, Machiavellian and psychopathic.

The light triad is not simply the opposite of the dark triad. There is a little bit of light and dark in each of us.

A study revealed that the average person is leaning more toward the light triad than the dark in their everyday patterns of thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Extreme malevolence is rare in the general population.

We all know people who consistently display ethically, morally and socially unreasonable behavior. Personality psychologists refer to these characteristics as "dark traits."

Researchers emphasize that these dark traits are related to each other, so they suggest that a D-factor exists. This is defined as the basic tendency to maximize one's own goal at the expense of others, and believing that one's malicious behaviors are justified.

• Those who score high on the D-factor aren't always uncooperative, as they can be very strategic in choosing when to cooperate.
• Those scoring high on the D-factor will not be motivated to help others in need without it benefiting themselves.

Astrology should not be perceived as a science, but rather as a system that explains each sign's evolution, including facts on personality, life cycles and relationship patterns, based on what the planets do or will do.

Having this in mind, individuals turn to astrology whenever they feel overwhelmed, whether it is about personal or professional stress. In return, they expect astrology to provide them with better perspectives and positive mindset.

For most of the people, astrology feels like a comforting magic that allows them to escape today's too organized and predictable life.

In order to feel the need to seek for astrology, one should first realize that he or she does not want pre-established answers anymore, but rather the pleasure to discover on own ground the truth, the freedom and the meaning of things. However, there is still a great amount of individuals who believe in astrology in a more rational way, while coming to the conclusion that this is some sort of language, of a tool.

Learning is not a rigidly formal system of precisely labeled steps.

Learning is messy. It’s trial and error. It’s failing and then failing again and then slowly figuring it out.

You can’t borrow someone’s motivation. No matter how many books you read or chants you do you won’t become more motivated.

Motivation comes from inside. It comes from you and nowhere else.

The creative genius tends to pay attention to things that normally should be ignored or filtered out.

People with schizophrenia are bombarded with hallucinations and delusions that should also be filtered out. However, creative genius differs from them in that the genius can separate bizarre fantasies from realistic possibilities. 

Many geniuses walk the line between the normal and the abnormal. The many impulses and ideas they perceive are a fountain of creativity. However, rational thought does impose a limit on a person's concept of his relation to the world.

But you don’t have to constantly be battling your fears. You only need to be courageous for 20 seconds at a time.

If you courageously confront fear for 20 seconds every single day, before you know it, you’ll be in a different socio-economic and social situation.

Abraham Maslow argued that all needs could be grouped into two main classes: deficiency and growth.

• Deficiency needs are motivated by a lack of satisfaction, such as the lack of food, safety, affection, belonging, or self-esteem. The higher the need, the more we change reality to satisfy the most deficient needs.
• Growth needs have a different sort of wisdom. Instead of being driven by fears and anxieties, it is more accepting and loving. It is asking, "What choices will lead me to greater integration and wholeness?" rather than "How can I defend myself?"

At a young age, when an expression of a need is disregarded as not as important as the needs of the caretaker, a child may get the message that they are not loved while they have this need.

This causes people to behave in a way they think they should feel, not how they really feel. As adults, they are always influenced by others' opinions and driven by their insecurities and fears of facing themselves.

Some of our common 'demons' are:

• Procrastination
• Laziness
• Self-loathing
• Comparing yourself with your peers, leading to envy
• Loser mentality.

Our inner demons lead us to negatively judge ourselves, further leading to avoiding that judgment, and eventually starting the internal self-destruction, if the negative downward spiral is left unchecked.

Being in a mess is akin to breaking free of rules, norms and expectations, and the unkemptness lends itself to the flowing of mind’s juices. Keeping things tidy and cleaning up all the time can also hamper productivity by being a form of procrastination.

A mess can be looked upon as a wildness, a certain freedom of the mind.

While a garden is all neat and organized, a wild jungle has its unique creative beauty.

• Instead of dating according to a laundry list of traits and preferences, a person can get out of their comfort and familiarity zones and date other types of people.
• One can choose a different kind of individual, breaking the unconscious habits or roles developed as a child.
• When we start to look at others holistically rather than through a series of must-have qualities, it broadens our perspective. Let people surprise you, and surprise yourself!