Philosophy Discussion Forums

"The Backwards Law isn’t so much not about worldly achievements. If anything it’s about transcending them The Backward Law makes it clear that the more we seek the less we find. The more we chase these outside circumstances the further will be removed from what we truly desire. If you try to hold your breath you will lose it. But when you let it go it continues on its own. When we stop trying to be happy we’ll be happy because there’s nothing we need beyond what is. When we stop trying to be rich we’ll live in abundance because our content with what we have and anything on top of that is a bonus. Thus the only way to have what we want is not to want it."

I'm having a hard time trying to apply this philosophy.
Let's say a person is 300 pounds overweight and is a "happy camper." This person loves to eat. The doctor tells this person he/she needs to lose weight or there will be severe consequences. So this person makes plans to control the eating, exercise, etc. This person really wants to lose weight. But the only way to lose weight is not to want to lose weight. Well, if he doesn't want to lose weight then he won't lose weight. Right?

There is a big difference between completing goals (where working towards that goal is critical) and seeking external entities, such as a girlfriend, a starting pitcher or a lead soprano, where being in "seek" mode makes you less attractive to others.