Dr. Peterson

One of the greatest events in my life has been my introduction to the classroom lectures of Dr. Jordan Peterson. I do not know much of his public life, nor is that of great interest to me. But the man I know in the classroom has been perhaps the greatest teacher I have witnessed. He has pushed my knowledge of Personality Psychology the furthest, and I am intensely grateful for this teacher.

He appeals most to the logical aspect of me. Logic is all that should belong in a classroom I believe. If we add emotion, our learning is hindered. If we use logic to understand our emotions, our learning reaches the highest plane of functioning it can. There are planes of learning I believe. Some things you learn that you need everyday. Some things are outright useless. But the highest plane is when you learn things that you feel are transforming you in that very moment. As a student, I live for those moments, and the number of times I have had those moments with Dr. Peterson are far too many for any human to have. Heh, sometimes I feel special, because WOW. So many. My God, so many such moments that often I feel I do not deserve them. I feel guilty for having them when they could have been with others. As a teacher, I wish to distribute such moments, rather develop in my students a taste for them.

Life is an acquired taste.

I have often held that I wish to be a teacher because as a teacher, I can influence ten people who will go and influence a 1000 more. If I become the kind of teacher I had as a child, then I promise this world will be changed for good. Yet to reach that mark, is a task which I wish to try. I feel I am capable of doing anything, yet this task of being a good teacher challenges me. Maybe that is a sign it is worth doing.

Back to Dr. Peterson. He speaks of acting according to the conscience. The voice that keeps us from doing things against our being. I thought of this idea, and I realise that my conscience is a helpful one. It has high standards.

Here is what I mean. I consider that simple daily tasks can be anxiety inducing. They can also provide a great pathway to us. Many prophets and much of science tells us the benefit of simply working and not worrying of what will come out of the future. To have such a path can be both restraining yet liberating.

I have often wondered what is my path. There has never been any pressure on me to be a certain way. This freedom has been challenging. It is the freedom to choose what you wish to do. It means it is the freedom to make great choices and terrible ones. This freedom also means the freedom to learn from and let go of the consequences of terrible choices (which I often fail at).

For example, when I began watching Dr. Peterson, it was out of the freedom to watch and learn from whoever I wanted. Well, there was affinity toward teachers already, but that is beside the point. I chose him, and it was a great choice. Then I learnt that if I choose all of him, then I must also choose things against my conscience. This is lazy. Understanding requires great activity. There is only so much you can figure out online. I had to learn to let go of him.

Ok I am tired bye.