Personal wisdom of the faithful and restraint

I will. not raise my hand.
 "Touch not the lord's anointed" misused phrase.
Personal wisdom of the faithful and restraint
1 Samuel 26 (whole story).
Its about David and the wisdom that we can learn from. Not about Saul.

Principles:
1. Wisdom comes from knowing that when God wants something important to be done he will make it clear to you.
If not exposed to the Bible, no chance to understand the will of God.
"I will not do this because I have not heard from God. "

2. Wisdom comes from knowing what actions are ours to make and what actions are purely in the hand of God.
It is not mine to make. Not been made clear to you. If not assigned to you then do not do it. Who's decision is it?
You are a candidate for a miracle when a problem is beyond your abilities. "Learn to restrain yourself!"

3. Wisdom comes from knowing that not all opportunities are positive opportunities
Being knowledgeable doesn't make you a wise person.
Wag tumanggap ng offer.

Understanding your freedom without abusing it.

Galatians 5:16-18
¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[a] you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians summarized what this freedom entails.
Chap 1 delivered the Jews from the law of Moses
Chap 2 deliver us from guilt and sin
Need to keep human traditions
Deliverance from deeds of the flesh w/c endanger our salvation

Understanding your freedom without abusing it.
Galatians: Magna Carta of Christian liberty
Main verse Galatians 5:1

Freedom in Christ

5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm,then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

In the exercise of freedom we must
A. Not serve the flesh
V. 5:13

Life by the Spirit

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Freedom in Christ does not mean license to do anything we want.
Freedom in Christ Is our motivation to obey our God.
Freedom in Christ is overcoming the works of the flesh. V. 5:20

²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

B. The works of the flesh doubts our salvation. V.13
Genuine saved Christians care how they live, they are conscious of their representation of Christ.
Genuine saved Christians do not continue to sin
1 John 1:9
⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Genuine saved Christians are victorious over temptation and sin.
We should take the danger of the works of the flesh seriously

Go and sin no more!!! To the blind an leprosy possessed child.

C. The works of the flesh must be crucified. V5:24
²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
I am the one who ha crucified the flesh and has chosen to no longer have the power of the flesh at work over me
I chose to give my lode to Christ and god joined me to Christ an put to death my old man in Christ, and god took away the power of sin and delivered my body of sin from its slaver to sin.
I also chose to no longer gratify the sinful passions and desires of the flesh.

When i chose to follow Christ i also chose to crucify my flesh. The flesh desires me to sin while the spirit is at work in me to give me victory and to lead me to holiness and love.

Putting the flesh to death is an ongoing basis, it is my work of faith and obedience to god.

Yielding to God is sustained obedience.
Sustained obedience to God is only possible when we walk in the Spirit and are refreshed daily in the presence of God.
Intimidating with go is absolutely essential to walking in the spirit.
Sustained obedience to god and not indulging the flesh but walking in the spirit produces the rich blessing of fellowship with god and the deep joy and peace of god that comes from obedience
Sustained of obedience Produces spiritual maturity and power with men, fruitful ministry, and godly character.

How the christian is able to do this.
Galatians 5:16
Walking in the spirit means that our desire must be in line with the purpose of God an for His glory.
Walking in the spirit means the body is to serve the will of God. The body is not to be a servant of sin but of the Spirit.
Walking in the spirit is walking victoriously. It means to live each moment dependent on the holy spirit, sensitive to his voice.

Bottom line
Are you truly in the faith?
Are you trusting Him?

Rising above social handicap

1 Chronicles 4

New International Version (NIV)

Other Clans of Judah

4 The descendants of Judah:

Perez, Hezron, Karmi, Hur and Shobal.

² Reaiah son of Shobal was the father of Jahath, and Jahath the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites.

³ These were the sons^[a] of Etam:

Jezreel, Ishma and Idbash. Their sister was named Hazzelelponi. ⁴ Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah.

These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and father^[b] of Bethlehem.

⁵ Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

⁶ Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.

⁷ The sons of Helah:

Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, ⁸ and Koz, who was the father of Anub and Hazzobebah and of the clans of Aharhel son of Harum.

⁹ Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez,^[c] saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.”¹⁰ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

¹¹ Kelub, Shuhah’s brother, was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. ¹² Eshton was the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah and Tehinnah the father of Ir Nahash.^[d]These were the men of Rekah.

¹³ The sons of Kenaz:

Othniel and Seraiah.

The sons of Othniel:

Hathath and Meonothai.^[e] 14 Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.

Seraiah was the father of Joab,

the father of Ge Harashim.^[f] It was called this because its people were skilled workers.

¹⁵ The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh:

Iru, Elah and Naam.

The son of Elah:

Kenaz.

¹⁶ The sons of Jehallelel:

Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel.

¹⁷ The sons of Ezrah:

Jether, Mered, Epher and Jalon. One of Mered’s wives gave birth to Miriam, Shammai and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. ¹⁸ (His wife from the tribe of Judah gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soko, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, whom Mered had married.

¹⁹ The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham:

the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maakathite.

²⁰ The sons of Shimon:

Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan and Tilon.

The descendants of Ishi:

Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

²¹ The sons of Shelah son of Judah:

Er the father of Lekah, Laadah the father of Mareshah and the clans of the linen workers at Beth Ashbea, ²² Jokim, the men of Kozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (These records are from ancient times.) ²³ They were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah; they stayed there and worked for the king.

Simeon

²⁴ The descendants of Simeon:

Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah and Shaul;

²⁵ Shallum was Shaul’s son, Mibsam his son and Mishma his son.

²⁶ The descendants of Mishma:

Hammuel his son, Zakkur his son and Shimei his son.

²⁷ Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children; so their entire clan did not become as numerous as the people of Judah. ²⁸ They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, ²⁹ Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,³⁰ Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹ Beth Markaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri and Shaaraim. These were their towns until the reign of David. ³² Their surrounding villages were Etam, Ain,Rimmon, Token and Ashan—five towns— ³³ and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath.^[g] These were their settlements. And they kept a genealogical record.

³⁴ Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, ³⁵ Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, ³⁶ also Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, ³⁷ and Ziza son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah.

³⁸ The men listed above by name were leaders of their clans. Their families increased greatly, ³⁹ and they went to the outskirts of Gedor to the east of the valley in search of pasture for their flocks. ⁴⁰ They found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful and quiet. Some Hamites had lived there formerly.

⁴¹ The men whose names were listed came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hamites in their dwellings and also the Meunites who were there and completely destroyed^[h] them, as is evident to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks. ⁴² And five hundred of these Simeonites, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, invaded the hill country of Seir. ⁴³ They killed the remaining Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

1. The answer to your social handicap is Divine provision.
Recognize what you have.

2. Social stigma is resolved by divine presence
Hand of God= presence of God.

3. Social rejection is resolved by divine protection leading to freedom
If you are being protected nobody can Say anything against you.
What can anyone say?
Your past is removed.

How do we live for Jesus?

1. Knowing the concept of a crucified life.
Gal 2:20
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Understand what happened in the cross.
A. The blood of Christ dealt with our sin.
B. Cross deals with the sinner.

Crucified identified with Christ. From Adam to being identified with Christ. Shift of identification.
1 Corinthians 15:22
²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
Life identified in Christ no longer in Adam. Experience of Christ and blessings are ours.

2. Is a life of intentional holiness
Rom 6:5-11

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 5:24
²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the fleshwith its passions and desires.

Sinful nature is crucified. Penalty and power of sin working in us.
Sin (penalty power presence) unless we allow it, we sin.
Live your life to live for Jesus. Overcome sin. Deals with the Power and penalty.

3. Is an life of Christ dwelling in us through his Spirit.
Life of Christ given to us. No control of your life. Live for Jesus.

Galatians 5:16
¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Are you properly attired for your daily spiritual race?

June 3, 2012

Grateful for the rebuked
Matthew 18:15

Dealing With Sin in the Church

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[a] sins,^[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

1. A rebuke is necessary but the intention is always to restore.
Point out whats wrong for the person to be protected.
Settle this between God. Emotions should not be the controlling factor. Avoid bringing your emotions. Scold someone without losing confidence in life.

2. A rebuke is expected to respond with repentance.
Repentance restores.
He does not rebuke us that we will be embarrassed.

3. A rebuke is a chance to be blessed or a possibility to be burdened.

What are you living for?

Phil 1:21
 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Christ is my life my life is made up of Christ
2 cor 5:17,14,15

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

Putting the living for ourselves is the definition of the love of Christ controls us.
Loving for Christ is actually being controlled by the love of Christ and the love of christ

3 particulars

1. That is Christ is the principle of my life
Foundation authority my rule for living.
I fetch my spiritual life from Christ as the branch fetches its sap from he root.
From his fullness we live
Sends forth life and spirits unto me to quicken me every good works.

2. That is Christ is the end of my life.
I live not for myself - but for Christ
Romans 14:8 12:1-2

⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

A Living Sacrifice

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We lay out ourselves wholly for Christ
We propagate his gospel, the design of our life is to exalt crhist and to know him and to make him known.

3. "for me.." That is Christ is the joy of my life
"Di bale na Christ is in me."

Psalm 43:4
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

God is my exceeding joy, Christ is the source of my Joy.
If Christ were gone,  life would be empty and dark.

Expectations of our life in Christ
We shift our focus from I, me mine to Christ who lives in me.
We need to depend on God to open our eyes to see what our duties are now.
We need to seek God's clear direction in every area of our Christian walk.

1. We must live only for him. 2 cor 5:15
You have no personal reason anymore to live here on earth except for Jesus to live in you
Put off the old put on the new.

2. Christ must he magnified in us at any cost. 
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

3. Frustrate not the grace of God. 
Gal 2:21  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
Much have been poured out on your life let it not be waste. Do not waste his death on the cross for you.

Ungodliness

Jul 16, 2011 Youth Fellowship notes

Ungodliness is doing ones everyday life without thinking of God, God's grace and faithfulness, and has no appetite to seek His will and word.

Ungodliness makes a person dead and uninterested with fellowship and God.

Relational ungodliness - when one denies to have fellowship with fellow believers, the church, and even family.

Doctrinal ungodliness - people know God's word but they do not practice it and ponder on it.

To be truly godly is to choose to be godly and continue to believe in God's word. Know that God's wisdom will lead you to salvation.

We are spiritually dead and it shows on how we live. But out of unconditional love, Jesus chose to save us from being eternally dead in spirit and truth.

The Bible is inspired (breathed) by God.
- the record of its events is accurate
- it is consistent
- it is prophetic
- it is life changing

To be truly godly is to fully avoid people who does not practice the right faith in God. To recognize false godliness needs discernment. False godliness is when someone pretends to be godly.

To be truly godly, choose to persevere during persecution.

Final Project: Portfolio of the Self

Knowing oneself is usually a task I leave out to others and it really has not been a concern of mine until I realized that understanding who I am helps me take the unwanted behaviors and mental processes out of my system as I grow up. Understanding human development helped me through this and as an adult it has become clearer for me what I believe needs improvement in my personality as well as my strengths as an individual.  Allow me in the next few paragraphs show you the complex mix that I am with the help of Psychology.

I believe it is only proper to begin with the description of who I am. I am Dennis, an elder brother to two step brothers, step sister and a brother from my parents. I am 24 years of age, born and raised in a Protestant family. I prefer travelling than staying put in one place and I am inclined in playing music as well as cooking and baking. To delve deeper into these interests of mine I’d like Psychology to do the explaining for me.

Psychodynamic Perspective

The most prevalent trait about me is being much of an introvert. I’m not so good with people let alone approach anyone in confidence and strike a conversation with them. The idea of it sends me shivering and with sweaty palms. There really is something about me having this difficulty with socializing and being receptive to people especially when they are in groups. It takes time for me warm up to them and I choose the types of people to talk to. Often I find it easier to talk to people who introduce themselves first and open up right away; otherwise I do not take effort in relating with them unless I am required to do so.

The Psychodynamic Perspective would say, or as Sigmund Freud would suggest, is that unconsciously I tend to attach some form of judgment of myself that others may have on me that causes me to not mingle comfortably with other people. There could also be this unconscious fear of rejection and embarrassment for approaching someone the wrong way. This could be explained by an early childhood experience that constantly rings in my head even with the words passing through my head, it is that one statement that my father made about “not talking at all if there is no sense in what you will say”. I find myself struggling to be vocal even stutter in front of anyone.   

Drinking party with Culinary friends

Another trait of me that I am able to practice is my control for any form vices. While I am able to completely inhibit myself from smoking or even using drugs, I rarely get myself into drinking sessions or parties. It used to be something I would never consider until I entertained the idea of drinking and made sure I still did it in moderation. I was trained as a child at home and at church to completely abstain from such activities so up until I got into culinary school that was the only time I started drinking. In the first place I never really understood the pleasure that you get from it, alcohol was too bitter for me and I found nothing beneficial with drowning myself in it. This is a classic example of the id, ego and superego. By the time I've found it pleasurable to drink with friends my id works in a way where my instincts tell me to drink till my heart’s desire while my superego tells me not to do so because getting drunk leads to many forms of consequences. The ego works telling me that in most cases not to keep going since I am driving or I have to commute home and my tolerance for alcohol is not as high compared to my friends.  Until now these three have helped me in disciplining myself in functions and I've managed to be a casual drinker.

Humanistic Perspective

Growing up I’ve had my share of ups and downs, being the eldest in the family entails a huge responsibility and there was so much pressure on my end. The pros of being the first child are probably getting much of the needed unconditional positive regard that Carl Rogers talked about. There were times that I would experience harsh disciplining but my Mother and the adults around me would show empathy towards me. My aunts and uncles would usually be the ones who are open and would accept my difficulties and struggles. Admittedly I developed some sense of inferiority but other people helped me fully actualize myself.

"The organism has one basic tendency and striving - to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism” (Rogers, 1951, p. 487).

I would have to say that my last few years of catching up in college have allowed me to fully actualize myself through various opportunities despite the number of failures that I have encountered. I am slowly achieving congruence where my self-image is matched the ideal self. My girlfriend would often say “You overlook how good you are, you have such a low self-esteem” and true enough I do have issues with self-concept. I find that my self-worth during my adolescence stage was that I’d be stuck in mediocrity despite how hard I tried to strive for excellence.

Behavioral Perspective

The way I take studying or any form of interest seriously could be explained by the Behavioral Perspective. Partially with the influence of my parents, I am often compared to my classmates whether in writing or performing in school I was always given a benchmark to follow.

Bandura pointed out the theory of self-efficacy which pretty much applies to what I have experienced. I have been accustomed to train myself to be as competitive as with the other kids in school. I always see myself being able to be in that same level and the more that I trained myself to be that way the better I performed in anything whether academically or extra-curricular. I keep telling myself not to avoid the difficult challenges so I can flexible with other tasks. It is also in my nature not to blame my abilities instead the amount of effort of that I put into any task or maybe the task was harder-than-usual which are all stated in the Attribution Theory. All of these are stated in Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory where a person like me goes through observational learning in developing my personality. I have also come to realize that through Reciprocal Determinism that actively participating in class or any function in society allows me to be more welcomed in such groups.

Putting this all together I would have to say that I am striving to reach my full potential as a person and as much as possible stay conservative. A huge part of me works hard to compensate for anything in my personality that I’ve acquired to be unpleasant by constantly observing other people. I would have to say that I live vicariously through other people’s lives and fit it to the ideal person that I want to be.

Current Stage of development

At 24, I am at a stage where relationships do matter and a lifelong partner is essential. According to the Filipino culture and my biological features would suggest it is high time that I establish an intimate relationship. Erikson stated in his Psychosocial Theory that I belong to a stage where we learn Intimacy versus Isolation. The crucial part of being in the 20’s where we hand pick our friends those whom we can fully trust our lives with and at the same time a potential partner that you can share your vows with.

My girlfriend and I have been together for almost 7 years and we are at a stage where the idea of marriage is absolutely part of our consciousness and this is proven by Erikson’s theory of intimacy versus isolation. He explained it as “finding oneself yet losing oneself to another” and I could not agree more with this statement. At the period of my life where I find my independence and stability in becoming an adult I also lose myself to my partner and give her a part of me, a commitment I am prepared to make.

                                 

There is this persistent fear of being left alone and spending the rest of your life as a “matandang binata or dalaga” since there is this sense of comfort that we get from our partners, this thought motivates us to stay together. The major issue in this stage could be the conflicts that arise with our relationship and career paths. Both aspects have different demands and establishing my position as an adult would sometimes clash with my relationship with my partner. Issues of priority and commitment arise and if both are not balanced there is this fear of separation. Isolation is the last thing I want to happen. Love must be dealt in the most mature level possible since major decisions will be made a few years from now.

Learning style

Learning as a child I was highly motivated by rewards, I remember one instance where I was still memorizing the multiplication table and a batman figurine was waiting for me right before my eyes as long as I could get the whole thing. I eventually got it and that positive reinforcement worked for me every time. If I would not perform well I was given a positive punishment so that I would refocus myself. Even until now, I make it a point to reward myself after finishing a series of exams of projects especially if I know if I’ve done well, this is explained by Thorndike’s Law of Effect. There was something about the Operant Conditioning type of learning that pushed me to become a better student.

                                                            

Observational Learning

The other style is being observational which I feel like I have been doing half of my life. More often I was left to learn everything on my own somehow to my disadvantage. I learned things by observing other people’s lives and how they make their decisions and ultimately the consequences of their actions. It does save me from doing trial and error but there are more concrete things that I have not learned that my parents have somehow neglected to teach me with.

How these affect my way of learning

Both ways of learning have allowed me to be more of an experiential learner. I figure out things on my own and when I am faced with that situation and I am able to solve it or get through it I reward myself reinforcing the fact that I've done the right thing. I confirm the validity of my actions by how other people will react in what I've done. If I believe I have not behaved properly then I do not deserve to be rewarded and there are permanent changes to be done.

                                              Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test™

Your Type

INTP

Introvert(67%)  iNtuitive(12%)  iNtuitive  Thinking(62%)  Perceiving(22)%
You have distinctive preference of Introversion over Extraversion (67%)

·                     You have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing (12%)

·                     You have distinctive preference of Thinking over Feeling (62%)

·                     You have slight preference of Perceiving over Judging (22%)

According to the Jung Typology Test I got an INTP meaning Introvert, Intuitive, Intuitive Thinking and Perceiving. Reading through a concise description of INTP’s I laughed and kept nodding my head as I concur with it. Just a list of words that described me: “pensive, analytical, detached, oblivious, inclined in correcting others, easy-going, amenable until principles are violated (about which others may become outspoken and inflexible), prefers a reserved albeit benign ambiance, spend considerable time second-guessing themselves, obsession with logical correctness but overlooks details, loves to play with Mathematics, and one major concern is the haunting sense of impending failure. In seasons of low energy level, or moments of single-minded concentration, the INTP is aloof and detached in a way that might even offend more relational or extraverted individuals.”      

How did all this build up into my personality then? I remember growing up as a happy kid, up until my whole middle school life I kept thinking I was the class clown and I could easily blend in with any group. My personal set of friends were never more than 10 kids though whether in my neighborhood or in school. I guess everything changes in high school. Culture shock and all other things made the world I knew seem bigger. I thought to myself there was only so much I knew. This is what the Behaviorists would explain as me being conditioned by my environment.

Temperament for me became slow to warm up to people. There came a point that having too many people that exhibited a more dominant personality made me feel somehow awkward or off and I set myself to be more of a wallflower. It was not my thing to seek for attention; I was and still preferred to be more personal with my friends. I could only handle conversations on a one-on-one basis.

Introverted as I am, I made sure that I would fight my way through high school and my earlier parts of college. It was in my personality to be more eager with tasks though not in an extra-curricular manner, I made it a point to work hard academically. It could be a biological trait that runs through our family of professionals. To be analytical and to have this appreciation for math is not what everyone would have but I always loved the challenge of Mathematics and being able to solve them with ease.

Another side of me would be my right brain working balancing out my left brain. I hate being in one place, I often crave to travel to any place and appreciate any form of art and food. I can associate this to my passion for food which is the reason after not doing well with accountancy I followed my instincts to take culinary arts. I always thought of myself to be the adventurous type, I didn’t want to wind up in a room full of papers and be in front of the computer all day. It was an ideal self that I tried pursuing but would not really work out for me since it did not match my real self.

What defenses I use to cope with 

problems

Some of the less primitive and more mature defense mechanisms that I use to cope with problems would be repression, displacement and undoing.

I've had a history of witnessing beatings at home being part of it as well I as much as possible repress these memories. I often have trust issues with people or being insensitive which others associate this of my past bad experiences. To be of proper behavior I repress these memories as much as possible to be able to relate much better with other people that find me difficult as a person. I also switch moods instantly at times which is caused by a particular stimulus and this is where displacement occurs. I would often direct my emotions when irritated to anyone near me or those who try to make me feel better which eventually leads to additional problems. I would have to then deal with them by apologizing which another defense mechanism is called undoing where I counteract the damage I’ve done to this particular person.

Other mature defense mechanisms are sublimation and compensation.

I often get into stress eating and when I become down the impulse of gorging myself with food just comes and sometimes through sublimation I choose to exercise rather than get myself fat or leave myself bloated with so much food. I can choose to direct these energies towards a physical activity or some other form of creative output or play music instead of regretting to eat that burger value meal that’s just around the corner. I also put humor to unacceptable thoughts so I can lighten up any problems or stress. I feel that for a moment I can forget them and they can be solved eventually. Another is compensation and a lot of times when I see myself failing in anything that has to do with technical skills, speaking or any other skill in which I consider a weakness I remind myself of other learned skills that I am good at like playing an instrument or cooking which actually helps to keep me out of that state of having low self-esteem.

Nature Vs. Nurture

I believe in the concept of both aspects influencing human development. Growing up I found that I may not exactly be as competitive as my father or anyone in their side but part of me knows I am able to excel in my own way. The environment around me allows motivates me to do so like the university I am in, my peers and other people that see a different kind of potential in me. It only means that although I may not be genetically predisposed to be a lawyer or accountant or whatnot but with an enriched environment to which I am exposed to I still can be a successful entrepreneur in my own right.

Going through the mind of Psychologists was informative and it brought many realizations. Throughout this time of contemplating of who I really am I have given myself the chance to profile my personality and behavior and other things that go through my head. These different perspectives are a well of knowledge that I’ve come to appreciate and I have accepted my strengths and look forward to working my weaknesses out.