esper

Thanks @Martin123 for starting this thread. You verbalized the same intuition I have had. While it's true that everyone's situation is different, so perhaps some people with "weak egos" would be best served by going right for enlightenment, I think a lot of them (most?) will end up shooting themselves in the foot by doing so. It's just too big of a goal to take on all at once. Baby steps. Best not to make plans for how to colonize Mars while your current house is on fire. The temptation, I think, comes from enlightenment being held out as the highest goal one could possibly aspire for. That being the case, it only seems natural to make that the sole focus of your efforts. I can speak only for myself here, but I feel like I was tempted to do just that because deep down I lacked faith that I could achieve positive results with any kind of personal development goal. So, the twisted logic says, why not just go for the most important goal, in the off chance that it does work out? The answer, of course, is that you're basically gambling, when you could turn it into a game of skill by undoing limiting beliefs like "I am incapable of getting what I want." Whether it's that belief, a slew of others ones, or something else entirely, I think the point is that if you get some wins under your belt and lay the foundation, there's nothing wrong with making enlightenment your goal 5 years from now instead of right now. Don't they always say that to reach your destination, you have to know both where you want to go and where you're starting from? So if you are in denial about where you're starting from and just say "the hell with it, I'm going!", you're not exactly setting yourself up for success.