So let's talk about it. How do we make right choices? For Plato this was the virtue of prudence. When the one who deliberates, that is, the one who chooses, does it right. It was a search throughout history. Because we are building our lives as a result of our choices. So it's not about anything, it's about the path we're going to take. So it's very important to know how we get in, in order to have the best chance of making an appropriate choice, a choice that favors us. The philosophy of human decisions A philosophical look at
human decisions. That is, we will work with philosophy to take a look at some things that are interesting to know about it. The name of this art of knowing how to make choices is the virtue of discernment. Discernment is exactly to separate the core of things, that is, the essence of things. The core is synonymous with essence, so you can know what is appropriate and what is not. It doesn't mean that the inadequate is bad, it means that it is not the best at the moment. But for that you have to know the core of
discernment comes from that. A superficial person who is not used to going deeper to observe, deeper into what life offers, there is not much way to make choices. Well done, right choices. And we have the habit of being superficial, even in relation to ourselves. Which is the first of the alienations, which generates all the others. Lack of self-knowledge and basic self-domination. We suffer a lot from it, right? This too much harms our decisions. Do not let time decide. We sometimes have the impression that if we leave it there, time passes and solves the problem. Time
will take the best measure. Time will let things roll randomly in the direction it wants. Which is not necessarily better for you. It is evident that time does not solve things. It drags things forward in any way. And it is likely that this choice, which is not really a choice, is an abandonment of the choice, is not better for you. Therefore, be careful with this comfort of taking into account that I am not seeing that it is time to choose. Time solves everything. Time does not solve. Sometimes it complicates things a lot. In several sectors,
not acting on time complicates things a lot. I think in almost all, to tell the truth. So don't fall into this, let's leave it there. Let's pretend I'm not seeing that I have to decide something here. And let it be solved by itself. It does not solve. So it's the first thing we have to unbind. Do not wait for time. What else? Almost every lecture I talk about this, because I like etymology very much, which is the origin of words. We use words without knowing what they mean. You don't know the difference that makes this.
When we start to delve into the words, understand what they mean. What is their origin? Where did they come from? When they were born, what did they want to say? Intelligence is composed of inter and elegere. Elegere means to choose. That is, choose within. This is its origin. It would be from Latin, choose within. That is, choose among multiple possibilities, which is the best. It is said that the greatest of all intelligences is to choose among all the options that the world offers you, who you really are. The greatest of all intelligences is identity. How
interesting, right? It's the first. Sometimes we think a person is intelligent. And this fundamental intelligence, she doesn't have. Sometimes she has a logical capacity, well-trained reasoning. But this intelligence, to be able to distinguish the essence, the core of things, find what is valid, in the middle of several other options, requires capacity for relationship, requires depth, a number of things that fall between us, are not so common in our days. They are not so common. We should be more concerned about the scarcity of natural intelligence, than about the abundance of artificial intelligence. Because they are two
worrying things, no doubt. Intelligence is something that we have to develop through a capacity for deepening, and the ability to make relationships. And today we are increasingly, let's say, rushed and superficial. What prevents the development of intelligence a lot. So she is also related to knowing how to make good choices. She is related to discernment. What else? Also linked to prudence. I told you that Plato said that the right virtue would be prudence. For him, prudence is the virtue that, when the person makes choices, chooses correctly, that is, chooses the best for himself. Prudence has
to do with wisdom. So prudence is that which leads to reflection. It prevents you from making an impetuous decision. Decide with a warm head. That's what we usually say. We don't think. We decide to be based on emotions, passions, hatred, revolt, revenge, whatever. We are very passionate about our decisions. Very passionate. We decide on top of what we want. Which can sometimes be a passing taste. If you were a little sensible, you would think more about what you owe than what you want. Because you know that it is a passing taste, that it will change
soon. That is not really you. We are not the things we like. Have you ever stopped to realize that? Much of what we like was not chosen by us. It came through the propaganda of society. We were induced by a series of collective tastes. If you stop to think about all the things you like, which one did you really choose, from a comparison you made of a deep self-knowledge that you have, what is in tune with this self-knowledge, you will realize that it is almost nothing. It is very little. Most of the things were induced.
By the mass, by the education we received, by the historical moment. We are induced, we take ten steps on the street and we are being induced. The propaganda is everywhere. It is sometimes propaganda with a series of subliminal resources, so that we are influenced without even realizing it. Propaganda is very effective. It passes through very subtle paths. And when we see, we already have a choice. It has already been induced by something. So little of what we like has anything to do with us. It would be ideal if it were like this. But in general
it is not. So prudence has to do with stopping, thinking and acting. That is, giving enough time to do what in that time? Make a reflection. Turn inside. Which is exactly what we are going to talk about on our next screen. Prudence is the daughter of reflection. Reflection is inner life. Turn inside and try to imagine. Who am I? I am Lucy Helena, who has as her life goal fraternity and justice. Therefore, everything that is related to fraternity and justice is good for me. Everything that goes in the opposite direction is bad for me. Therefore,
based on these principles, on the values I have, the thing that is out there, more similar to what I am, is such a thing. Therefore, I made a decision based on an internal reflection, based on principles and values choosen freely, as being the symbol of my identity. My deepest identity is on the horizon. We will talk about this soon. It has to do with my sense of life. What I want to build in myself. Something that I always say to people and everyone does not receive this idea very well, because it seems a little soft.
It is good, it is interesting. Let's talk about it later. Which is to imagine the last day of your life. What human being would you like to find there? Isn't it our final work? What do we want to be at this moment? What do we want to have built internally? What influence do we want to have left in other people's lives? And the influence we want to have in the world? Who do we want to be at this moment? What is our finished work? How are we going to build a house without knowing where we
are going? Without knowing if it is earth, if it has two floors, how many rooms it has, if there is no plant? How am I going to build? How am I going to know what to do today if I don't know where I'm going? It is clear that identity has a lot to do with this sense of life. We will return to this point. So prudence is the daughter of reflection. You stop, think, that is, think internally. And take what is deeper in you. What is closer to your identity. And compare with what is on
the outside. What is closest to it. Then you make the right choices. You project your being in the world. You make coherent choices with what you want to build. With what you want to be. So a prudent man is necessarily a man who has an identity. Otherwise he will stop and think about what? Prudence is not just stop, think, act. Think about what? Think about what everyone is doing? This is not prudence. It is to consult the collective face, the massification, what people call normosis. Everyone chooses by collective tendencies. This is not prudence. Prudence is
to stop and think deeply about yourself. About your own identity. Because otherwise it's no use stopping to think. The impulsive decision is to give the same. You will be influenced in the same way by what everyone does. Right? It's not that I'm against it. Look well. So you don't get this impression. I'm not against doing what everyone does. As long as what everyone does is right. Now, when everyone is walking to the abyss, it's better for me to save myself alone. Than to be with everyone. Now, if everyone took the best path, much better. I
don't walk alone. Great! Welcome! Let's go together. But have the courage. We are not going to be dragged by the crowd. When you realize that the crowd is blind. It's going to an unwise destination. Do you remember the tale of the flutist of Hamelin? He played the flute and the mice all went to the abyss. We have a flutist of Hamelin playing around. Influencing people in a direction. Which in general has nothing to do with their good. It has to do with someone's interest. Who is behind this melody. Then we are constantly being chosen. In
the most basic things of life. And that's the problem. We are chosen by what we think. By what we like. By our tastes and our rejections. Don't you find that interesting? Stop thinking with me. If each human being had a legitimate, real identity. No one would be like no one. We would be complementary. But no one would be like no one. Each would realize an essence. An unique and unrepeatable. As Emperor Marco Aurelio said. The loss of a single human being impoverishes me. Because it is an infinite and unrepeatable universe. With which I stopped making
contact. If each of us had a deep identity. No one would think like no one. When society divides. As we see happen in many historical moments. Half thinks one thing. Another half thinks another. I stop to think. 200 million Brazilians. 100 million are thinking the same thing. It is not possible. Probably no one is thinking anything. They must be being thought. Because 100 million people. It was supposed to be 100 million opinions. Where each one thinks and complements each other. And they make theses, antitheses, synthesis. And they build something together. That would be wonderful. Because
we would see a question from all angles of the planet. If you take 100 million people. And they are thinking the same thing. It is unlikely that anyone is thinking. It falls between us. So we have this. We ignore that we have to build our vision of the world. Many times we surrender to this comodism. As if everything had already been thought. And we simply had to choose. For one of the gangs. For one of the tribes. That are out there. We cancel what we have of more authentic. That is our own identity. And consequently
what we came to do in the world. Which has everything to do with our identity. When we know who we are. We also know what we were going to do here. What is our mission. And knowing our mission is what makes us. To be able to realize it. And realize ourselves. Understood? This is very important. But I still find it more funny. Between us. Just opening a parenthesis. Within the palette. I find it more funny. Than people having an opinion. A collective thought. A collective feeling. Don't you find it curious? Suddenly, from one time to
another. Everyone hates the public character. Or love the public character. How do you ask people. Did he do something to you? No, I don't even know. Why do you hate? Why do you love? Because everyone hates. Let me go too. What is this? Feeling? How so? What kind of pre-made feeling is this? I always remember. In some lectures I tell this story. From a fact that happened to me in my childhood. It was very funny. I was 10 years old. I had just arrived in Brasília. I was going to my school. When I got there,
I had no class. Because Juscelino Kubitschek had died. Then I come back home. In the middle of the way I found a little boy. From my class. Going to school. I stopped and told him. Look, today there is no class. You can go back. Why? Because Juscelino Kubitschek died. He looked at me like this. His head fell. Totally consternated. It was pure feeling. Then suddenly he raises his head. Was he from the fifth series? Every time I see a very superficial feeling. I remember Juscelino from the fifth series. It falls between us. So we get
to the maximum of collectivizing. Even our feelings. For God's sake. We do that a lot. It is very difficult to make authentic choices. If you are not authentic. You will choose what everyone chooses. Which is not necessarily the best. Especially when people are not acting for reason. They are acting by emotions or induced by someone. When people are in panic. Do they run for the better? In general, they run towards danger. Instead of running from it. When people have their emotions altered. In general, they make the worst decisions. And you join this group. To not
go alone. So it is very important. Think about the question of authenticity. About the question of identity. We will talk about it later. Deepness. Superior mind. It is very important that we understand. How our mind works. In India. They get to the point. To be very pedagogical. To say that we have two minds. A practical mind. That they call the mind of desires. And this one that chooses a product in the supermarket. Chooses an apple. The apple gondola. That chooses things. To make a personal economy. To buy a new car. This choice of the day
to day. It is this basic mind. Of desire. That they call the mind of desires. They say that we have another mind. That is a superior mind. Called only of manas. Mind. For those who do not know. From there came the man. That is associated with man. In the languages neolatinas. In Anglo-Saxon. Because Sanskrit. For those who do not know. It is also a language. A language that comes from the Proto-Indo-European. In common with us. So from there came this prefix. Connected to man. Of manas. Of man. Of Sanskrit. This is a little digression. In
linguistics. But anyway. This manas. This superior mind that we have. She only thinks based on principles and universal values. For her to make a decision. She will consult what is noble. What is fair. What is good. What is altruistic. What I should do as a human being. She only thinks in these terms. And what do they say? For you to make any decision. That has any relevance in your life. You would have to raise your consciousness to this highest point. And decide up here. And once consciousness falls. You do not change the decision down there.
You only make decisions up here. You know what it is. You know. There is no moment when we stop to think. How will families be in Ukraine? And although I am not a relative of Ukrainian. It gives me that pain in the heart. To know that the houses are being demolished. With families inside. That there are people in the middle of the street. Hungry without knowing what to do. They are not even wanting to receive more Ukrainian migrants. It's hard to go to another country. Anyway. We look at that and say. What a tragedy. How
terrible a family is going through this. And it hurts. It hurts our heart. You know what is happening in a Syrian family. You know what is happening. The pain of someone. And that hurts your heart. We all have these moments. We have nothing to do with it. We are not Ukrainians. We are not Syrians. We are nothing. But the human pain hurts our heart. This moment you are experiencing this. Your mind is up there. Your consciousness is up there. In your pure mind. Consciousness is like an elevator. It went up and is in the pure
mind. Have you ever imagined in this state of consciousness. You make all the decisions in your life. Fundamental in principles and in high values. And when consciousness falls. Do not change these decisions. That would be the most painful thing. This would be the best and most human way to decide. Anything that has any degree of importance. Let me stop. Raise my consciousness. And decide here. Decide how to be human. Not based on selfishness. Not based on comodisms. None of that. Based on values. In principles. In what I have for the best. There is a story.
That Plato. I'm not talking about anyone. Plato is probably the greatest philosopher in history. A great man. That really was a dividing line in human thinking. Platon is fundamental to the history of philosophy. One day. In his house. One of his children. He made a very serious mistake. That no one tells what it was. And he was very affected by that. Then he left home. He went to his school. That was the academy. He took his nephew. And said. Go home. And judge this and that. Because in this state of consciousness. I refuse to judge.
And you know what a beautiful thing? The humility of knowing. At this moment my conscience has fallen too much. I do not judge anyone. From this level of consciousness. Here where my conscience is. I, in no way. I make decisions. I make judgments. How beautiful is that? How beautiful is that? Not even Plato can be with such a high conscience. All the time. Sometimes it gets affected. But he knows perfectly well. That it would be a terrible injustice. Decide with conscience down there. It would be decided by revenge. By hatred. And not by justice. So
he takes a person who had nothing to do with it. There was no reason to be overwhelmed. To go there. Listen to history. And make the best decision. The most just of all. That's it. This should be our main guide. For decisions. Always consult what we have. The noblest. The highest. That point we know. We know that our conscience is passing. Our conscience goes there from time to time. This point is sacred. You should make your decisions from it. What we call the superior mind. It gives us the most profound decisions. But well-founded. You dive
into yourself. To find the direction. Continuing. Capacity to observe. Know how to differentiate. There is something that has to do with our superficiality. Our lack of self-knowledge. It is how we are scattered in the present day. Unable to pay attention to the details of life. Once I took my students. In a philosophy class. Without any major warnings. I took them and said. How long have you been working in the same place? One worked ten years. Another twenty. Another I don't know how long. In the same place? It is. In the same place. Describe to me
now. What is the ceiling of your workroom? How is the lamp? Is there a sink? Or the finishes are straight? What is the ceiling like? Do you believe that no one remembered? And it took twenty years to have that room? You can think it's a mess to look at the ceiling. It's not a mess to be a detailer. Look at the requinte of things in life. Because that's how you know things. To have requinte. To have this capacity to observe. I always recommend that people. Exercise a little. Listen to instrumental music. Listen to classical music.
To realize. To realize when an instrument comes in. When another comes out. To be able to dig a little bit. This your attention. Because life is full of requintes and details. That are very important. And from that too. You can see things that can help you. To make the right decision. So at a certain moment. Let's say I'm the boss of a session. You have to decide. Between these four employees. Which one of them will assume a leadership position. A responsibility position. Then I look and see. All four are productive. But besides that. I don't
know anything about them. I know they are productive. Because they give me the job. And I see it was done. But besides that. I don't know anything about them. Maybe I've never looked into their eyes. Deeply. I don't need to. I say good day. Low head. And ready. I perform the work procedures. I find it interesting. That sometimes in all professions. I'm not trying to accuse or discriminate. In all professions. But particularly. One thing that catches my attention. Sometimes in a medical consultation. You go. And the person doesn't look at you. I think that's amazing.
It happened to me. He doesn't look at you. He just listens to the symptoms. And writes down something. In all professions. That happens today. Because the man is. Very scattered. How can I make decisions. On top of things I don't know. I didn't have the desire. To look at people around me. Look at the environments around me. And try to discover this mystery. What is the other. Look in the eyes. Don't be afraid to look in the eyes of the other. We in New Acropolis. When you take a course of oratory. Talk a lot about
it. To look in the eyes of people. Once I took a course of oratory. Many years ago. External. That was not within the school of philosophy. Do you know what they said? Don't look in the eyes of people. That will disturb you. Look here in the middle of the eyebrows. That the person will not realize. That you are not looking in her eyes. And you protect yourself from the eyes of people. Can one of them? It's between us. I'm not even there for you. I want you to think I'm looking at you. But I'm looking
in the middle of your eyebrows. How can you? Within a course of oratory. I heard. No one told me. And it was a technique that I believe. That was not used only there. So this question of not looking. Not seeing. Not to go deep. Not to be interested in anything. It's amazing. Then I have to make a decision. I don't know things around me. I have no depth in anything. Choose such a thing. A room for you to stay. I don't know if this room is worse or better than mine. I never paid attention to
mine. I don't pay attention to anything in life. From my house to my work. I go through places where there is a garden. Where there are flowers. Where there are people passing. Taking their children to school. What did I see? I don't see anything. I don't see anything. I stay in the autopilot. Just thinking about a thousand things. That have to do with my work. What I'm going to do when I get home. I ignore the world. As if it had nothing important to tell me. Do you think this is a good strategy for the
person to have a criterion for decisions? He doesn't know what things are. He doesn't know what people are. It is a superficiality where we avoid the eyes of the other. We avoid going deeper. As if this generates some kind of commitment. And it does. When you look into the eyes of the other, you generate a certain commitment of coherence. Of transparency. Of being true to what you are saying. It generates this commitment. And we run away from it. Staying in superficiality. So this need to develop. A capacity to observe. To be able to differentiate. So
that you can really be a factor of sum. Make appropriate decisions. That benefit yourself. That benefit the other. With deep knowledge of the other. Capacity for prediction. It is also a very necessary element to make decisions. You have all the time in your hand. What is having all the time in your hand? Time is past, present, future. And we have three virtues that allow us to have time in our hand. Past, memory. Present, attention. And future, imagination. Sometimes we see in a crisis. This always happens. You will take that review and exam. There are a
lot of enterprises that went to the hole in the crisis. And there is a citizen alone that is rising. You have not seen that? Someone who predicted the course of the crisis. From the other crises that have already lived. Because between us, economic crisis in Brazil is not new. It's not new. I myself throughout my life, I lost count of how many I witnessed. I have difficulty remembering when we were not in economic crisis. Most of the time was. So the crisis has a... more or less predictable. I remember the past. I have memory. And
in the present I am attentive to see these factors that were decisive in the past. When they appear on stage. The crisis began to resolve itself when this and that factor began to appear. I'm attentive. I'm seeing what's going on. And from this observation of my memory of the past. This observation of the factors that are moving in the present. I project through imagination. Something quite essential. Something that I have already understood. A very logical consequence of what I'm living. So I have the three times in my hand. A capacity to make decisions with clarity.
Very good. This within the... job market, for example. It is a CEO. It is a highly valued executive. He knows how to deal with time. Through these three virtues. Which is once again difficult. Because we are the attentive. So our memory only records half a dozen things. In our present we are attentive. Only those things that we like. That we cut, chose. Picked the world and only looks at half a dozen things. And the future we are a lack of capacity for imagination. Which is not a joke. Because if we ignore the past, how are
we going to imagine the future? What are they? What are the premises that we left to be able to imagine the future? Anyway. This is an element that is also very important. Memory, attention and imagination. They help you a lot. They help you to base a good decision. Fugitive and lasting. We have a tendency. I'm talking about our defects all the time. I'm not saying that we only have defects. But I'm saying that there are some gaps to stop. You realize that we live in an immediate society. If you have to wait a long time
to get something. The person gives up right away. He has no patience for a longer job. He demands that he works. That he walks without having fruit. Until a certain point where these fruits come. We have no patience for this. We want quick results. For everything. We have reached the point of creating social networks that fit less text. Because we don't want to read. It's text, they call it. You will see. I sometimes see critics. Oh, text. I'm going to look at what I wrote. I count. There are ten lines. Text. That is, it's impatience.
It's out of the ordinary. It's true. I've had people. Several comments. I was publishing a text. I counted ten lines. It's amazing. Ten lines is too much. I have no patience to read all this. So there comes a certain moment. That we are always decided on the basis of the fleeting. And not the lasting. On the basis of things that remain. That are more solid. That can fundamentalize a whole life. Not always on the basis of the past. Always on the basis of the fleeting. Of disposable things. Of disposable relationships. Of superficial contacts. Always in
relation to the fleeting. What you taste and discard quickly. This is making you have no deep relationships built in your life. In relation to wanting and to duty. That I already told you. I want. Many times it prevails over what I owe. Why? My taste at this moment. I like this thing. The foundation of character formation. According to Plato. It is exactly you to educate your taste. To like the things that make you grow. And reject the things that animate you. That brutalize you. So if you have a taste that does not coincide. With what
you should humanly do. Do not coincide with your principles. Educate this taste. It is possible to educate the taste. Learn to like. Do not decide on the basis of emotional catrishes. Extremely temporary. This is not you. So do not exchange the duradouro for the fleeting. Do not exchange the I owe for the I want. These tastes of ours are not even ours. They are temporary things that we probably took from the middle. So you will see that at one time. For example, once I saw a study of propaganda. I found it interesting. They did a
study. For example, in the past. 1950. What was the most successful propaganda campaign? Then you will see that the most successful propaganda campaign. It was also the most consumed that year. That is, decisions were made. According to the most successful campaign. The other year there was another campaign. That was more successful. The consumption was all in that other direction. These people were being guided. They were being thought. Every year, the one who invested the most in propaganda. It was who dominated people's decisions. The companies grew. This has not changed anything until today. Companies grow. Depending
on the ability to induce others. To choose. To think that it has some differential. And it's funny. Between us. Discutting the subject. The human being has a need to make choices. This exists as. Let's say. A device of our psyche. We need to think that we are making choices. Yes. So there is within a propaganda machine. A prediction even of that. That you need to think you are making choices. So you know what it does? A single manufacturer. Makes ten products competing with each other. But they are all his. Once I was in doubt. In
a supermarket shelf. Which toothpaste did they buy? There were so many. I thought. Is there any difference between these toothpaste? It is not possible. So much paste. There is no difference between my use. How am I going to make a choice? Then I went to look at the letters. Small. That we generally do not look. They were all from the same manufacturer. They create that variety. For you to have the illusion that you are choosing. In fact. You have already been chosen. Since you left home. You are not making any choice. Anyway. Even this prediction.
That you have to think you are choosing. Sometimes it is already thought. Within marketing strategy. I'm not saying that there are dark gentlemen. Wanting to dominate humanity. I'm not saying that there is ambition. I'm saying that there is. A whole study developed. To be able to put products. In people's lives. This is marketing. This exists. We know it exists. The use of common sense daily. One thousand and one utilities. The common sense. It's like the younger brother. Of prudence and discernment. How am I going to make a decision? Right. At the moment when it arises.
A matter of weight in my life. A significant issue. If in my silly decisions. Of the day to day. I decide anyway. If a country. For example. Go to war. As it happened with the nations of the past. He is successful. If he only trains for war. When the war. It was. When it started. Or is it the one who trains every day. Is the one who has a chance to be victorious. Who trains in peacetime. It is logical. It has always been like this. The Spartans trained every day. When it came to war. No
one was in the state. Isn't that so? You will make good decisions. Just thinking about decision. At the time of the big decisions. And in the day to day. Doing anything. No. Think. Think when you enter. Inside a supermarket. This good that I'm buying. Do I really need it? I always used it. And when I didn't use it. Did I really need it? Why am I putting so many things. Inside my house. What will be the future of these things? Is there really a space for them. Inside my house. Or is it going to be
something. That in a short time. It will be inside the trash. A waste. Waste of work. Of resources. Why am I adding. To a superfluous industry. That has nothing to do with it. Why don't I buy. Just what I really need. A good sense attitude. For you to have. In front of a supermarket shelf. A simple thing. An extremely simple thing. I'm going to throw something out. In my house. I'm going to throw something out. In my house. I'm going to throw something out. In my house. In my house. In my house. In my house.
In my house. I'm going to throw something out. In my house. Is it really to throw it out. Wouldn't that have a possibility. To be reused. Not because I want a new model. What difference does this new model have. It will benefit me more than this old model. In what. Ah! Because the refrigerator of the year. Such was launched. It has such a function. Do you really need such a function. Is it missing in your life. If the device is good. Is it working. Why water loads. I have to change. Why do I have to
change. Why do I have to change. Why do I have to change. Why do I have to change. Why do I have to change. Why do I have to change. Why do I have to change. Why do I have to change. Because the model is younger. You need this younger. For what. Being that. You are getting older. Each passing year. Why do you need that. Why. Anyway. Wisdom. That choice yes. Well bean with rice. Of the day to day. The decisions we make. Regarding things. Of respecting. The objects that serve us. Of laboring things. At
the bottom. And in the end. We say that it is not in our reality. It is not a reality. In the eyes of the mind. We say that. Transformation. At the top. At the end. At the top. to have a notion of what my real needs are, to know how to treat things with the principle of economy, to think about several considerations about the planet, about my needs, about ecology, whatever it is. Make good reflections on a daily basis, to make small choices on a daily basis. Ponderous choices, sensible choices. That's how you prepare for
the big ones. Train for war in times of peace, otherwise it won't work. So observe your daily decisions. In general, because they are small, we don't think about them. They are impulsive. It is what is popularly said, what is on the shelf. What arises in our mind, let's go there. I'm going to buy this for what? I don't know, it's cheap. The cheap one, you buy anything. It doesn't matter what it's for. When you get home, it's a business that doesn't serve anything. Occupying space. In a short time, that is inside a trash can. And
work, and resources, and everything that is being thrown into that trash can. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. People my age, who are not the majority here, I think there are very few, I'm not seeing any to tell the truth. People my age, I remember in my childhood, in my youth, how little garbage we generated. Who is a little older, we generated little garbage. We generate a lot of garbage today, which is an absurd thing. It's even embarrassing to put that in that trash can in front of the house. Why? Why? Why did
we get into this? Who put in our head that this had to be like this? And we went in, in an insensate, unconscious way. We started to consume useless things. Things wrapped in a useless way. And we went to increasing decisions that only caused harm to ourselves and to the environment. Lack of basic sensibility in our daily lives. That's when we train to make big decisions. Train there, every day, in the little things. That's when we start to do bodybuilding for decisions that are right in bigger issues. Right and wrongs generate experience. Right, they do.
As long as you reflect on them. I made a terrible choice. I really got sick with the CD. I made a terrible choice. I will reflect on it. So I won't do the same nonsense again. What led me to make this choice? I made an unthought decision. Why didn't I think before making a decision? I am a human being. Homo sapiens. I had to think before, not after. There are two beings in Greek mythology. One is a hero and the other is an anti-hero. That was Prometheus. The one who thinks before. And Epimetheus, the one
who thinks after. He was a fool. We were made to think before things. Why was I impulsive? What did I base myself on to think that this was good for me? Now I'm paying attention. These factors that alienated me will not alienate me anymore. In this hole I don't fall anymore. So I learned this factor. I assimilated. I don't make this kind of mistake anymore. If you make a mistake and don't reflect on it, you will make the same mistake again. And in the same way. So the experience was useless. Do you think that experience
is simply that you matured because you lived? No. If you don't mature, if you don't reflect on what you lived, you will repeat the same experience a thousand times. It doesn't mature anything. It is in that childishness of those who are eternally making mistakes. At the same point. At the same thing. This is fundamental that we try to avoid. Because life is not that long. We have a lot to learn. That is, the mistake is not so bad when it prevents us from bigger mistakes in the future. When I learn from it. Now, when I
just get upset and keep walking the same way, the mistake is useless. It was a useless loss that you will repeat again. So see what you based your decision on, which was a mistake. And try not to repeat the same way with the same foundation. Then yes. Experience begins to add up. It starts to make a difference. What else could we say about decisions? The good counselor. This is Emperor Marco Aurélio, a stoic. Does anyone have a guess who he said was the good counselor? Death. This one. Death. Take death as a counselor. It's wonderful,
people. Do not be afraid. She will not come any sooner because you took it as a counselor. Ask death. If I died tomorrow, what choice would I make now? If I automatically take your consciousness, it will take it to the higher mind. I would make decisions that add up to my life. That were good for people, that were good for me. That were consistent with my values. Of course, you just ask that question. That automatically the mind will come out of here and go up. I do not know if you know these concepts of Carl
Jung. He talked about Selfie. Selfie as something greater, deeper in man. And the ego as this daily that works for survival. When we take death as a counselor, at the time our consciousness leaves the ego and goes to the Self. It goes to something deeper. And you decide on the basis of higher things. More yourself. So she is a great counselor. She gives a definitive touch to the things we do. And automatically pulls our consciousness to the right point. I do not know if you have studied singing. I studied for a while in my life.
And the teacher did a thousand exercises for me to find the right point. To put the voice in such a way that everything I emitted would be beautiful. There are also exercises to put our consciousness in the right point. So that everything we decide is right. And the right point is up there. And death helps. She pulls the consciousness. And you will decide on the basis of great, definitive, relevant things for your life. Not on the basis of the passenger. So he was right. She is really a good counselor. Confucius also has something to say
about prudence. Which is the art of making good decisions. Reflected, well thought out decisions. He said the following. A wise man is one who thinks twice before deciding. If he thinks only once, he is imprudent. If he thinks three times, he is a fool. Do you realize that? The right measure for you to reflect and make a decision. If I do not think enough, I am impulsive. I'm deciding for passions, for anything. If I think too much, I'm procrastinating. Fantasizing. I'm postponing the fact of making a decision with a thousand things in mind. And I
never made that decision. It's the typical procrastinator. But if something happens. And if I don't know what. And if someone gets involved and says something. And if time goes by, he doesn't decide anything. This is what he thinks too much. The one who postpones, the procrastinator. He's thinking too much. You have to think in the right measure. To make the right decision. Without delay and without rush. That's what he's trying to say. This is the exercise of prudence. When I postpone too much, it's because I don't want to decide anything. And when I'm in a
hurry, I don't care much about what's going to happen in my future. So it's very common, sometimes, this impulse of young people. Ah, let's do high-risk things. Let's do ... Have you ever seen those crazy sports? That develop around there. A person jumps from the top of a mountain, stuck in the elastic. And keeps doing toing, toing, toing, toing down there. The craziest things. Look how brave I am. Brave nothing. Be prudent. Brave? Will you work in a social work in the middle of sub-Saharan Africa? Will you take care of children? Be brave. Courage has
purpose. It's not that you risk your life for nothing. What sense does it make for a person to die because he broke the elastic? What sense does it make? This is not courage. This is impetus. Waste of time, waste of life. So prudence is the one that measures exactly what is correct. At the right time, without excesses and without shortcomings. That's what Confucius wanted to say. Establish an ideal. This, despite being one of our last tips, is not less important. It is perhaps the most important. It has a lot to do with other things we
have already talked about. When I establish an ideal, where I want to get with all this, who I want to be on the last day of my life, what I want to build with my life, I know that the things that take me there are good. The things that take me away from there are bad. There is an example that must be the most beaten of all the lectures I have given. Everyone who has already listened to my lecture knows. I start walking and ask people. I'm going in the right direction. I'm going in the
right direction or in the wrong direction. People ask me. It depends on where you want to go. Let's say I want to get to my white board. Now it's right. Now it's wrong. Isn't that right? And if I don't want to get anywhere? What is right and wrong? Do you realize that you can't make a choice if you don't want to get anywhere? You will choose based on what? On what everyone is doing. What is right? What is wrong? For those who don't know where they want to go. It's what everyone is doing. What is
fair? What is unfair? What is corrupt? What is good? What is good? What is bad? There is no way to make such decisions. Because it is your reference that gives you this measure. There is no reference. I don't want to get anywhere. But what are your decisions about? What? Probably what everyone does. Most likely. From the moment you clearly outline where you want to go with your life. What kind of human being do you want to be? What do you want to do for the world? What do you want to do for the world? What
do you want to do for the next? That old phrase that I always quote. Make sure you are the sum factor for the people whose lives you participate. I am the sum factor. People who lived with me became a little bigger. The world got a little bigger because I existed. And I grew a little throughout my life. I made a difference. I was the sum factor. I didn't live in vain. If you want this, if this is important to you, put it as a goal. Otherwise it will not happen. You will walk in circles. You
will not get anywhere. You will not build anything. We think we have to build many things. The fundamental construction that we have to do is the construction of ourselves. You have to put it as a goal. The product ready. What human being do I want to be? Then you have a reference of direction. What brings me closer to that is good. What keeps me away is bad. How many foolish decisions would have been avoided if people had the ideal? How many people were convinced to do crazy things? That they would not have been convinced if
they had an ideal. We saw that accident of the Twin Towers in the United States. People were convinced to think that if they threw that plane against those towers, it would benefit the world in some way. If they had a clear ideal of values, they would not fall into that. How can killing people make me more human? On the contrary, it will take me back. If I have a reference based on human values, I would not fall into such manipulations. They fell throughout history. Those who dropped the baton, those who entered wars as mercenaries. Throughout
history, there were manipulated people because they did not have the ability to make good decisions. Do you know why? Because they did not want to get anywhere. Therefore, there was no reference of direction that allowed them to say. That allowed them to say. Not there. This contradicts my identity. It contradicts my principles. So it is one of the fundamental elements. To make good choices, decide your ideal. What do you want to be? Where do you want to get with all this? This is a fundamental element. Anyway, that's what I had to do for you. I
hope they are very simple elements. But that they are useful. I do not talk about things that I have not tried to do. I have tried to practice. Because that's what we learn in New Acropolis. We learn to pass what we are somehow testing, living, experiencing. Therefore, I pass on to you the advice that I live. And I like them. And they help me a lot. And when I do not follow them, in general, it goes wrong. So I'm passing on to you some basic rules that can be very useful. If we remember to practice
them and take them into consideration. They are tools for life. Remember that those who watch my lectures, I always comment the same thing. When you buy a blender that has only two speeds. Just click and click. There is a manual in five languages teaching you to click and click. And life is so complex, we do not have a manual. You do not know what to do. In situations like decision making, some life instructions would be essential. If we had a society based on wisdom. In the search for wisdom. In the perpetuation of wisdom. This is
not the greatest value of society for a long time. Some practical tips like this can be precious. When you make your decisions. Think and reflect about it. And I hope it will be useful for you. That's it. Thank you.
