Excuses or Inspiration?

So i stumbled across a quote from someone: "When people say life is short they must be talking about their own lives because ima be here for awhile". I thought this was hilarious, but true and also made me think of this quote from Chris Rock's movie I think I love my Wife:

"You know, some people say life is short and that you could get hit by a bus at any moment and that you have to live each day like it's your last. Bullshit. Life is long. You're probably not gonna get hit by a bus. And you're gonna have to live with the choices you make for the next fifty years.


[My personality psych teacher used wikipedia so i will too]

DEFENSE MECHANISMS:

In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms or defense mechanisms are psychological strategies brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. Healthy persons normally use different defences throughout life. An ego defence mechanism becomes pathological only when its persistent use leads to maladaptive behavior such that the physical and/or mental health of the individual is adversely affected. The purpose of the Ego Defence Mechanisms is to protect the mind/self/ego from anxiety, social sanctions or to provide a refuge from a situation with which one cannot currently cope.

SO this made me wonder if saying phrases like "life is too short" or "tomorrow may not come" is a defense mechanism for people to not take responsibility for their actions. Now I need help on this one Ryan lol. I can never remember all the defense mechanisms but we use them so much that it maybe an unconscious thing. I'm just going to g out on a limb and say these phrases remind me of the defense mechanism: Rationalization. Now i bet a lot of people never gave a second thought about rationalization being a defense mechanism. Why? Because we do it so often that we get away with it:

~Rationalization: The sense in where the person convinces themselves that no wrong happened and that it is or was all right. The main show of this defence comes in the form of EXCUSES
~Rationalization is known as a Level 3 Defense Mechanism: These mechanisms are considered neurotic, but fairly common in adults. Such defences have short-term advantages in coping, but can often cause long-term problems in relationships, work and in enjoying life when used as one's primary style of coping with the world.

I like that: "short-term advantages in coping, but can often cause long-term problems..."
In other words not taking responsibility for your actions because you want to think life is just a toss up can be damaging. What are you learning if you never take responsibility for your mistakes or actions. I'm not saying to have regrets i'm just saying that being reflective and not letting history repeat itself is an aspect of life we should NOT be avoiding. How do we start taking responsibility for our life? By growing up of course! I don't mean to oversimplify things but maturity is the best medicine in my opinion. I also understand that this is easier said than done. As we enter adulthood we are bouncing around trying to find some air like fish out of water. As we are trying to find air we may develop some selfish ways, which may be rationalized by "living everyday like its your last." Now i do agree that you are supposed to give your best everyday, but i learned from a wise man that its OK to have our off days, so i will stop beating up myself when i have these days and you should too.

I can understand using rationalization if you are trying to cope with something that is out of your control.(like someones death "It was their time to go, they're in a better place) Or even more difficult, coping with something that went wrong on your behalf. We can't turn back the hands of time and saying "shoulda, coulda, woulda" won't help anyone. What is more important is taking responsibility for your actions and not letting your actions define you. Using defense mechanisms overall may be hard to avoid as we get older, but there ARE ways to be aware of how we deal mentally with things. For example, when you make a mistake try your hardest to figure out what you learned from this experience and how you can avoid it next time. Making the same mistake over and over not only makes you foolish , but it could harm the people and experiences you are trying to maintain. An article i read said you don't live and learn you "learn then you live". This is so true, if you keep living without learning than you will burn yourself out.

So the next time you sleep with that girl without wearing protection, or spend your whole paycheck on rims for your car think REAL hard when you get those STDs results back or when you are sitting in your house with no power. Don't simply say you did it cause "Life is short and you want to enjoy it" because I'm sure the people you may be affecting don't want to hear that. I also bet when you look back on your life 10 years and you are taking medication for AIDs or sitting in a homeless shelter you wouldn't believe that's what you said to justify your actions. Take Responsibility for your life nobody can live it like you.