Somebody Else's Problem

If Tess of Tess of the d'Urbervilles had a sense of optimism (or if Thomas Hardy had it), she won't be getting the short end of the stick. Maybe she developed a case of learned helplessness, that is, attributing herself as the cause of things that go wrong with the world, regardless if she is indeed the real cause.

Now possibly I suffer from interesting bouts of learned helplessness (as do you and you and you). The base claim that learned helplessness can be reversed with focus on past positive experiences bases itself on a thick wallet; plebeians may not have the money (yet).

I recommend a good dose of island holidays.


After traipsing through the nice little island of Bintan with some interesting people, perspectives can change. I wake up when I want to, drive around in a buggy when I feel like it, swim, eat or even cook, with a mind that what I am doing is for my own good, and everything else is somebody else's problem. Pity the chambermaid that has to clear up the rubbish, the assorted bedroom mess and potentially fix the parts falling off the buggy.

I came back from the Bintan trip with an understanding of SEP, somebody else's problem. Now mind you sometimes when things go wrong, the blame is attributable to myself, but generally I realise that sometimes/often times, the root of all problems go beyond mere personal effort, that is, maybe what is wrong with people and events may not be my fault.

And thus begins this thought pattern. I will try hard to mould some futures, including mine, in the days ahead. And if things don't go really to plan, presto, I did my work and the rest is, SEP.