The mind, control, and sources of joy

¶ … strengthen mental discipline.

letter of Gratitude

(a) Lincoln's "higher purpose"

[b] What idea or insight in the full article would you recommend to others?

[a] what seems to be driving Stephen Glass? what are his life goals and aspirations?

[b] how do you think Glass would assess his own intelligence?

[c] Identify and discuss at least two strategies for deception Glass used.

[d] Did Glass leave what Greenspan called "a trail of casualties" in his wake?

[e] What advice would you give to editors about how to avoid hiring someone like Stephen Glass?

[a] Why should judges care if attorneys submit plagiarized legal briefs or motions?

[b] Do you think these punishments (taken as a whole) were too lenient, too severe, or about right?

[c] What distinction did the court make between these two cases?

[d] Do you think this kind of public shaming is too harsh?

PART 7

PART 8

[a] Identify a selection from each speech that you regard as the recipient's most memorable observation. 11

[b] What values do the recipients seem to share? 12

[c] What career or goal deeply engages you? Please explain. 12

"The mind is fickle and flighty, it flies after fancies and whatever it likes; it is difficult indeed to restrain. But it is a great good to control the mind; a mind self-controlled is a source of great joy."

PART 1: Identify and discuss three strategies you use to strengthen mental discipline.

According to Roberto Assagioli, one of the strategies to strengthen mental discipline is to cultivate a beneficent "obsession." When a person who wills to get rid of an obsession seems to allow the obsession to grow fiercer the more he concentrates on the obsession. But to strengthen his mind and resolve, the man can withhold his attention towards the obsession and replace it with a new interest, which can be defined as a beneficent "obsession." A reality that is suggested by an image can be produced by holding of new images before the eyes. Hence by creating a diversion towards the obsession by the new interest, the will to get rid of the obsession could be grown stronger.

Another strategy is to develop awareness of the transpersonal self. Assagioli says: "among them, the technique of inner dialogue works well. Imagine a very wise man who knows the answers to all the problems you face. If you could obtain an interview with this man what would he tell you? This is your inner teacher." This means that interviewing one's inner self and talking to one's inner self, one can get answers to questions and help in the development of a strong will and will power by strengthening of moral discipline. One technique of this is to meditate.

Mental discipline can also be strengthened by accepting individual responsibility. One should take complete responsibility for the changes he/she intends to bring upon himself/herself and absolutely avoid blaming anyone else -- the society, the parents or peers. Mental discipline is strengthened by understanding and pitying those who have harmed an individual. It is easier ad healthy to forgive those instead of harboring resentment and self-pity. One of the techniques of developing this is to include visits to hospitals or institutions for the insane and even slums, in the education for young people so that they come to know the real suffering of humanity and hence be able to compare his/her won suffering and most likely be able to forgive and forget.

PART 2: letter of Gratitude

This is a letter of gratitude to my Mother explain all the things that I have learned from her and all her advice and suggestions that she has given me which has helped me gain a better view of life.

For my mother

At the outset, I must convey my deepest gratitude to my mother for helping me to develop an understanding of the morals of life and the development of a sound mind. The way that I have developed as a person and the ultimate person that I am today would not have been possible without her guidance and understanding. As a mother, she infused me a number of vital qualities. She taught me to never give up in life, no matter what the situation is and how difficult the going gets. She taught me to build my self-confidence in whatever I do in life and infused a sense of confidence so that I never stop in believing in myself. She also showed me the useful in believing in others and having confidence in others, especially those who are close to my heart.

For personal development and to help incomplete understanding of others, my mother taught me to intently listen and understand what others say before responding. However, this is one quality that I am still struggling to grasp. I am also grateful to her to have shown me a path to be moral and taught me that I would inevitably become like the things that I surround myself with. Hence to be moral I need to surround myself with things that are morally sound.

She helped me understand how to develop my personal self by telling myself what I am helps to further develop one's morality. "You have what you say," she told me.

Being righteous to others is also an important aspect of life that I learned from her and she infused the belief that a little tends to go a long way in terms of a kind word or gesture. To help me in life, I have understood that life is not all me and what I want. I learned from her that the fact that to serve others instead of being served makes one feel more gratified. Forgiving others numerous times is a demonstration of how freely and frequently we are forgiven by ourselves and others.

Having self-belief is another aspect that I owe to my mother who said that unless subdued with irrefutable evidence, one should go with the gut instincts. She said that the nudge to follow one's gut feeling is really what the Lord is steering us into and the direction that He intends us to go. To keep learning in life I should always seek the advice of the wise and accord great importance to advice and observations of elders about the ways of life and what is going on in life.

Lastly, the fact that I am writing this letter of gratitude to her is also her contribution as she taught me that I should not let go of any opportunity to tell someone the extent to which I appreciate them.

Thank you for being the guiding force in my life.

PART 3: One of Abraham Lincoln's greatest attributes may have been his ability to recover and learn from failure. The quality of perseverance seemed especially useful to him as he struggled with "melancholy" (what might now be called depression).

(a) Lincoln's "higher purpose"

Lincoln's depressions and melancholy started to bear fruit during his mid-forties at a time when he began his fight against slavery. These were the qualities that had caused him trouble earlier. According to Joshua Wolf Shenk describing Lincoln's struggles with depression were in fact perhaps responsible for making him a better man. He coped with depression and used it to find a new purpose in life. Lincoln was very aware of his mortality as he often contemplated suicide due to his depression. Hence he attached great importance to achieving something that he could boast of before he died. And this shifting focus to a higher purpose in life helped him obtain a reason to live such as his struggle against slavery and his efforts to abolish slavery from the United States. Shenk noted in his article: "the suffering he had endured lent him clarity and conviction, creative skills in the face of adversity, and a faithful humility that helped him guide the nation through its greatest peril." "

According to Shenk, Lincoln also transcended depression and melancholy by applying humor. Being witty came naturally to him and according to his law partner, William Herndon, this quality in him helped him to obtain relief from the sadness that tended to engulf him. Many depressed people tend to find a way to mask his struggle against depression through humor.

Transcending melancholy, Lincoln also tried to find joy from his love of learning and reading. He also used this as his traction to fight against melancholy ad depression and find joy. He also developed a strong sense of humility even after assuming the highest pubic office in the country as he had no ego problems. He managed to transcend depression and attain a higher purpose in life by cultivating humility and faith. This he did by learning from his mistakes, and since he was open to taking advice and learning from others. He managed to accept his own failures due to his humility and learn from his failures. Therefore, his own failures or success failed to affect his moods. He used his faith in others to help bolster himself when he went through times of hardship and even depression.

[b] What idea or insight in the full article would you recommend to others?

The biggest insight that can be derived from the article is the ability and the conscious efforts of Lincoln to overcome his problem of depression and how he managed to transcend to set himself and ultimately achieve a higher purpose in life. This ultimately helped him in fighting and overcoming depression and melancholy.

While Abraham Lincoln is known to have achieved some great feats in life, he is not generally known for another feat which otherwise could have been a great obstacle to his achievements -- his fight and victory over clinical depression. However, the article by Shank shows how America's first President derived goals in life that kept him going and his pursuits in achieving the goals he set for himself kept his focus shifted from his depression and melancholy.

In the words of Shank who describes Lincoln's condition and his struggle and pursuit against depression in the article: "Lincoln's melancholy doesn't lend itself to such a narrative. No point exists after which the melancholy dissolved -- not in January of 1841; not during his middle age; and not at his political resurgence, beginning in 1854. Whatever greatness Lincoln achieved cannot be explained as a triumph over personal suffering. Rather, it must be accounted an outgrowth of the same system that produced that suffering. This is a story not of transformation but of integration. Lincoln didn't do great work because he solved the problem of his melancholy; the problem of his melancholy was all the more fuel for the fire of his great work."

Hence the article, in fact, hints at the proposition that Lincoln managed to achieve as much as he did due to his problem of clinical depression. Lincoln's melancholy, according to Shenk, even helped him to be more approachable and hence sympathetic to people.

PART 4: Please see the film "Shattered Glass" (Lionsgate, 2004).

[a] what seems to be driving Stephen Glass? what are his life goals and aspirations?

While the film never manages to or deliberately does not give any direct answers to why Glass took to selling false stories to the newspaper or what was the exact driving force behind this action, it can be perceived that he wanted to make a name for himself in the journalistic word. At the time when he entered the profession, there was intense competition and he had entered at a very young age. Perhaps what drove him to put his journalistic career and his professional and personal integrity on the line by perpetrating false news stories was the intense competition and his desire to do well.

While not stated explicitly in the film, the goals, and aspirations of Glass seem to be to achieve a place in the world of journalism and to have fame and money. It seems that as a journalist, Glass was aware of his abilities and his own strengths and weaknesses. This is perhaps the reason that he chose to take a shortcut to fame and used falsification and forgery to plant stories in the newspaper till the time he got caught. Glass was aware of his skills to manipulate and wield charm through sweet talk and to convince people and to like and trust him. He also used the skills to get himself out of tight and uncomfortable situations.

[b] how do you think Glass would assess his own intelligence?

In the film, it is obvious that Glass is a mixture of arrogance and insecurity. He definitely assessed himself quite high as he did what no sensible journalist would dare to have done under normal circumstances. His confidence in his intelligence was evident when he managed to get out of tough situations using his ability to charm and his ability to manipulate others. It is also obvious that Glass thought himself to be more intelligent which is evident from his daring ways to twist and kept looking for an added edge so that his stories were more saleable and he managed to continue doing this for years before he finally got caught. Even his seniors and editors did not get a sniff of his forgery which is evident that he had confidence in his abilities.

[c] Identify and discuss at least two strategies for deception Glass used.

The strategies that Glass used in the film are some that many uses in real life. He used his skills of manipulation to push people to accept what he says and what he claimed. He also used his charm to get out of tough situations or when he was cornered.

[d] Did Glass leave what Greenspan called "a trail of casualties" in his wake?

He did leave a so called trail of casualties after his deception. While the reputation of the newspaper was tarnished it did prove tormenting for those fellow journalists and colleagues who obviously liked him. Even though almost every one of his colleagues stood up for Glass when he was fired, Michael Kelly is probably the one who suffered most as he had stood up in Glass's defense when the truth of Glass's stories was questioned by David Kene -- who later became the editor and the one to bring out the truth about his stories.

[e] What advice would you give to editors about how to avoid hiring someone like Stephen Glass?

It is hard to foresee someone with the potential to do what Glass did before employment. One way of screening would be to subject the applicant to a psychological test to examine the extent to which that individual would go to achieve success and if he/she would even resort to forgery or make up a story. Another simpler screening would opt for a police verification to know any known instances of falsification or criminality of the applicant.

"An old and tiring gamesman is a pathetic figure, especially after he has lost a few contests, and with them, his confidence. Once his youth, vigor, and even the thrill of winning are lost, he becomes depressed and goalless, questioning the purpose of his life. No longer energized by the . . . struggle and unable to dedicate himself to something he believes in beyond himself . . . he finds himself starkly alone. His attitude has kept him from deep friendship and intimacy. Nor has he sufficiently developed abilities that would strengthen the self, so that he might gain satisfaction from understanding (science) or creating (invention, art). Without the thrill of the contest, there is nothing."

PART 5: What values and habits are you developing now to help you avoid this kind of outcome in your life? Please explain.

Michael Maccoby says that Gamesmen rely on competition and are driven by the urge to be at the top of any field that they are in. this can cause emotional trauma and even depression. To avoid reaching this stage one should be clear about certain things. It is important to have a life and be alive outside the workplace also. One should understand that the real achievements are not those that are attained at work -- as they cease to have any significant meaning after one retire, but those that are achieved outside of work. The job achievements do not define an individual expect adding to the resume. While accepting that money is important in life and crucial in paying the bills, it does not alone equate to true happiness. but the end all of life is not money and work related accomplishments and hence when one retires, the loss felt from going out of work forever would not have much of an impact.

PART 6:

[a] Why should judges care if attorneys submit plagiarized legal briefs or motions?

Many often state that courts are not merely institutions entrusted with the upkeep of the law but can also intervene to impose ethical standards especially if that pertains to anyone from within the legal fraternity. In the case of Cannon, his conduct was considered to be unethical and was intervened by the court as it amounted to plain and simple misrepresentation in a manner that violated the ethical rules [b] Do you think these punishments (taken as a whole) were too lenient, too severe, or about right?

I am of the view that the punishments were appropriate - neither too lenient not too harsh because this was his first offense but an offense that amounted to misrepresentation and violation of ethical norms. The punishments were enough to caution Cannon not to engage in plagiarism in the future with an obvious threat of ending his career if this violation was repeated.

[c] What distinction did the court make between these two cases?

The two primary reasons that distinguish Lane's case from Cannon are -- firstly Lane did not immediately appear before the court when he was called for to explain his plagiarism which was among his ethical duties as a lawyer and secondly he had charged an exorbitant amount from his client in preparing the draft which was obviously copied from another source without proper citation to the original article anywhere within the main body of the draft. Hence I am of the view that Lane's was a more serious offense compared to that of Cannon and hence the most severe punishment is justified.