We lost. Why should I care?

BirdsCommaAngry":3djxwcuo said:

According Jerry Burger, author of Personality, our well-beings can be tend to be contingent on various aspects of life, such as winning competitions, believing we are attractive to whoever we wish to be viewed as attractive by, the general approval of others, support from family, adhering to personal ethical standards, and even believing there is in fact a God who loves us. He summarizes the research studies referenced in this book as suggesting a single truth: people whose well-beings are contingent on aspects of life which we can control and/or cannot be changed, such as through religious beliefs and/or basing one's well-being on how closely we adhere to our own standards of ethics, tend to report having higher self-esteem, better health, and more financial success throughout their lives than those whose esteems depend on others, such as people telling us we look good, competitors being less prepared than we are, etc.

In other words, if what he suggests is true, any time I spend valuing the outcomes of Seahawks games will involve basing my well-being on something I can't control and, perhaps as a result, will negatively impact my self-esteem, my health, my ability to succeed at work, and more when compared to what my life would be like if I instead valued what I can control, like focusing on being a good and ethical person above all else. If true, fandom seems to come at a great personal sacrifice to our own well-being. Therefore, since this loss doesn't seem to come at the expense of my own ability to following through with what I believe is moral, that raises a simple question. If I can have greater well-being by caring about ethical standards rather than the outcome of these games, why should I care that we lost?

Click to expand...

BirdsCommaAngry":h2dbz752 said:

According Jerry Burger, author of Personality, our well-beings can be tend to be contingent on various aspects of life, such as winning competitions, believing we are attractive to whoever we wish to be viewed as attractive by, the general approval of others, support from family, adhering to personal ethical standards, and even believing there is in fact a God who loves us. He summarizes the research studies referenced in this book as suggesting a single truth: people whose well-beings are contingent on aspects of life which we can control and/or cannot be changed, such as through religious beliefs and/or basing one's well-being on how closely we adhere to our own standards of ethics, tend to report having higher self-esteem, better health, and more financial success throughout their lives than those whose esteems depend on others, such as people telling us we look good, competitors being less prepared than we are, etc.

In other words, if what he suggests is true, any time I spend valuing the outcomes of Seahawks games will involve basing my well-being on something I can't control and, perhaps as a result, will negatively impact my self-esteem, my health, my ability to succeed at work, and more when compared to what my life would be like if I instead valued what I can control, like focusing on being a good and ethical person above all else. If true, fandom seems to come at a great personal sacrifice to our own well-being. Therefore, since this loss doesn't seem to come at the expense of my own ability to following through with what I believe is moral, that raises a simple question. If I can have greater well-being by caring about ethical standards rather than the outcome of these games, why should I care that we lost?

Click to expand...

BirdsCommaAngry":2q0npe03 said:

According Jerry Burger, author of Personality, our well-beings can be tend to be contingent on various aspects of life, such as winning competitions, believing we are attractive to whoever we wish to be viewed as attractive by, the general approval of others, support from family, adhering to personal ethical standards, and even believing there is in fact a God who loves us. He summarizes the research studies referenced in this book as suggesting a single truth: people whose well-beings are contingent on aspects of life which we can control and/or cannot be changed, such as through religious beliefs and/or basing one's well-being on how closely we adhere to our own standards of ethics, tend to report having higher self-esteem, better health, and more financial success throughout their lives than those whose esteems depend on others, such as people telling us we look good, competitors being less prepared than we are, etc.

In other words, if what he suggests is true, any time I spend valuing the outcomes of Seahawks games will involve basing my well-being on something I can't control and, perhaps as a result, will negatively impact my self-esteem, my health, my ability to succeed at work, and more when compared to what my life would be like if I instead valued what I can control, like focusing on being a good and ethical person above all else. If true, fandom seems to come at a great personal sacrifice to our own well-being. Therefore, since this loss doesn't seem to come at the expense of my own ability to following through with what I believe is moral, that raises a simple question. If I can have greater well-being by caring about ethical standards rather than the outcome of these games, why should I care that we lost?

Click to expand...

ivotuk":38uybuct said:

You got it wrong dude, it's "Don't sweat the petty stuff, Pet the Sweaty stuff!"

Click to expand...

Bigpumpkin":9advim78 said:

You know what they say about "no pain", don't you?

Click to expand...

Aros":110r2t5h said:

The Secret for me is simple these days.

For decades I would sit and squirm through every agonizing play. My blood pressure would rise exponentially with each play's shortcoming...My voice would rise, the profanity was certain to follow.

I have spent 35+ years screaming at my television and making a complete fool of myself.

For what?

There wasn't a single word, scream, screech, proclamation that I could bellow through the walls of my home loud enough that would make a good gawddamn's bit of difference in the outcome of the game.

So these days? This old dog refuses to engage in the madness. If the game is going South like I saw this one was in the first quarter (and yes, these windblown 12's from the beginning have that right to bail) I simply stop watching...Move on to something more enjoyable. For me it's flight simulation. I will then check in the NET gameday forum to take the temp and find out the score and if it is bad, I know I can continue to enjoy my other hobbies.

This saves me from ridiculous emotional investment when I know deep down I have ZERO control of the outcome. So if in fact the Seahawks pull it out in the end and win, it's wonderful and I can watch the whole game stress-free. If they lose? Well at least I don't have to invest three hours of heartbreak and emotional turmoil, ultimately saving my Sunday.

So when my family returned from their shopping spree, the first thing they said was: "So how bad were you today?"

I could look them in the eye with all honesty and say "I was completely fine. I didn't even say a word."

And it's true. And I feel great.

Click to expand...

BirdsCommaAngry":wekuwbpt said:

Bigpumpkin":wekuwbpt said:

You know what they say about "no pain", don't you?

Click to expand...

Nope! Please explain!

Click to expand...

Bigpumpkin":3c9i8b82 said:

BirdsCommaAngry":3c9i8b82 said:

Bigpumpkin":3c9i8b82 said:

You know what they say about "no pain", don't you?

Click to expand...

Nope! Please explain!

Click to expand...

You're kiddin', right?

Click to expand...