# Joining the Army



## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

My stepfather (in a partially serious manner) suggested that I should go into basic training because it would improve my physical health and it would discipline me. To add, it would be a job to do, something worthwhile and with its own purpose. 

Normally, I would reject such a decision because all it would do is threaten my ability to live freely and strain my person. But in light of further thought, these things seem to be insignificant. I have come to the realization that I am expendable.

After recent experience, I have decided that over-attentiveness to the abstract is becoming a dull flaw of mine. The very idea that I should tread the path of intellectuals and academics seems to teach no lessons, offers no hardship and is nothing but a massive frustration that will go nowhere. Going to college to learn about some idea and to utilize that degree to get a job in competing for monetary resources and pleasure is lost on me.

Believing that everything is a big cosmic opinion has led me to believe that joining the ranks of the educated offers nothing at all. Learning, for what? There is no reason, when one will know nothing and others will remind each other of that.it also entails a sense of easiness, life is easy for me why is everyone else so bad? There's no point in attempting answering that. 

It seems as though my way of treating life has produced nothing. It also flawed on a greater level, it is simply dreadful to view the world through thoughts. I have much to gain if I put myself out there and squeezed the energy out of myself and make a difference. To create a shadow of my previous belief that doing things was just pushing around particles. Now I see there is no merit in trying to see the world that way.

It seems as though everything I could choose to do is a dead end. So I am now aware of my expendable nature and I am best suited for entering a bloodbath, a bloodbath that will be joined based on a philosophy of insignificance. Let expendablity be the implication of my understanding and let it be utilized accordingly to impact behavior. Life is about lessons, not about knowledge so it seems. Putting myself on the line is ideal for experiencing those lessons and finally killing the starving pet called inquiry will be the ultimate benefit. Why lust for what you cannot have? I say, living a dutiful life may be better than a life of lust.

Though truthfully, adapting to that may still strain and imprison me. It nonetheless sounds extremely unappealing but it is also an ideal path due to its understanding and accordance with its own lack of meaningfulness by recognizing expendablity in a person.


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## Noir (Jun 20, 2014)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> My stepfather (in a partially serious manner) suggested that I should go into basic training because it would improve my physical health and it would discipline me. To add, it would be a job to do, something worthwhile and with its own purpose.
> 
> Normally, I would reject such a decision because all it would do is threaten my ability to live freely and strain my person. But in light of further thought, these things seem to be insignificant. I have come to the realization that I am expendable.
> 
> ...


You seem depressed. I am on my phone, but it looks like you have had it with the world, more than really joining the army itself. (Sorry if I am being captain obvious here). I will get back to you tomorrow :kitteh:.


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## Schizoid (Jan 31, 2015)

In your situation, although joining the army would improve your health, but the most important question is, would you feel happy in the army? Although joining the army would have some pros such as it would help improve your health and allow you to experience hardships and gain life experiences, but there would also be some cons as well. Your emotional health would start deteoriating because you aren't living to your potential, your happiness level would also start deteoriating, and you also won't have much energy to pursue your abstract interests because you are stucked in the army feeling depressed over there. When you return home, your family and friends would no longer see a cheerful you anymore, because the army life has drained out all your energy. Although you have much to gain, but you also have much to lose. Your emotional health might deteoriate, and this would also affect your relationships with your friends and family. So is everything worth it? I don't think so. 

And also, you don't always have to join the army to improve your health. You can always improve your health by setting some time aside every day, like probably half an hour every day for jogging or something. Or you can cycle to work every morning. 
If you feel you don't have the motivation to exercise every day, you can always ask a buddy to join you or something. You don't always have to join the army to improve your health, there is always lots of other ways you can use to improve your health. 


And if you want to experience hardship and gain more life experiences, you don't always have to join the army to gain more life experiences. You can always try working overseas, or even volunteering overseas, or even travelling overseas for a few years. This would allow you to meet new people and experience all the different cultures and allow you to gain the life experiences that you are looking for. 


I was reading your entire post and from what I've gathered, you seemed to see no future in college and you are feeling very lost in your career path at the moment and hence you decided to turn to the army as a solution to solve your career path confusion. But this solution is only a short-term solution, it wouldn't work out in the long-term. If you find yourself having no interest in college at the moment, perhaps you can quit college and then work for a few years? 
At least, this is what I did after dropping out of college. I only managed to discover my career path after being in the working world for a few years.


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

It seems to me like you're lost right now Yoda. I wish I could offer you some solid advice but truthfully I'm quite lost myself. Lets hope that eventually we'll both find our way.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

Schizoid said:


> In your situation, although joining the army would improve your health, but the most important question is, would you feel happy in the army? Although joining the army would have some pros such as it would help improve your health and allow you to experience hardships and gain life experiences, but there would also be some cons as well. Your emotional health would start deteoriating because you aren't living to your potential, your happiness level would also start deteoriating, and you also won't have much energy to pursue your abstract interests because you are stucked in the army feeling depressed over there. When you return home, your family and friends would no longer see a cheerful you anymore, because the army life has drained out all your energy. Although you have much to gain, but you also have much to lose. Your emotional health might deteoriate, and this would also affect your relationships with your friends and family. So is everything worth it? I don't think so.
> 
> And also, you don't always have to join the army to improve your health. You can always improve your health by setting some time aside every day, like probably half an hour every day for jogging or something. Or you can cycle to work every morning.
> If you feel you don't have the motivation to exercise every day, you can always ask a buddy to join you or something. You don't always have to join the army to improve your health, there is always lots of other ways you can use to improve your health.
> ...


I am not going to college, not yet. I don't want to stay here and try to improve myself. It is a choice between desire and need. I desire a wasted life and I need fulfillment. My source of fulfillment is now an established lie, but an establishment in itself. To seek to learn more is a waste of a life, it is ideal that I am pulled out of it completely and forced into a life of experience. Freedom leads to sins.
Maybe I would end up happy or I won't. That is not important no matter what my body thinks.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

TheProphetLaLa said:


> It seems to me like you're lost right now Yoda. I wish I could offer you some solid advice but truthfully I'm quite lost myself. Lets hope that eventually we'll both find our way.


We are lost just for being here. It is time to plan how to get out and to get moving.


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> We are lost just for being here. It is time to plan how to get out and to get moving.


I agree with this whole heartedly. But it has to be something YOU want. You're trying to take the easy way out, and go with whatever everyone else tells you to do. Why? Are you afraid of making wrong the decision? Are you afraid of choosing something with meaning to you, only to realize in the end it meant nothing at all?


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

TheProphetLaLa said:


> I agree with this whole heartedly. But it has to be something YOU want. You're trying to take the easy way out, and go with whatever everyone else tells you to do. Why? Are you afraid of making wrong the decision? Are you afraid of choosing something with meaning to you, only to realize in the end it meant nothing at all?


I don't care if he is right or if he is wrong. I know what I wanted and it is pointless to search for. Since I have nothing for myself to do, I will have do something useful for some other people.


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> I don't care if he is right or if he is wrong. I know what I wanted and it is pointless to search for. Since I have nothing for myself to do, I will have do something useful for some other people.


What did you want?


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

TheProphetLaLa said:


> What did you want?


What I wanted no longer matters. Once upon a time, I wanted to learn things and maintain a status of intelligence. But the fact of the matter is none of that is valid. There is scant knowledge and more and more people are using their bundles of opinions to display their arrogance.


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> What I wanted no longer matters. Once upon a time, I wanted to learn things and maintain a status of intelligence. But the fact of the matter is none of that is valid. There is scant knowledge and more and more people are using their bundles of opinions to display their arrogance.


Why isn't it valid? What other people do has nothing to do with what you'll do.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

TheProphetLaLa said:


> Why isn't it valid? What other people do has nothing to do with what you'll do.


Because there is no working epistemology. Humans are incapable of obtaining true knowledge, only knowledge of their perceptions which mean nothing if others don't even exist.


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> Because there is no working epistemology. Humans are incapable of obtaining true knowledge, only knowledge of their perceptions which mean nothing if others don't even exist.


Are you implying others don't exist? Who are the "others" which don't exist?


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## Hypaspist (Feb 11, 2012)

I'd give it a serious second thought. You don't _need _to enlist to develop a sense of discipline and improve your health. Those qualities need to be in you as they're very personal. BT does improve health and build discipline, but does so utilizing accountability (in a way). In the Army, you're accountable to those around you. You don't do things for yourself only, but for those around you. The DI is your role model, and your fellow recruits and mates (once you graduate, wherever you may go) are your reason for doing things. The chances of you being deployed to the frontline combat roles are _very_ juicy atm (heard from officers and retired personnel).

All of these can be learned in civilian life. The difference is the pay is much better, and your "mission" will be far more personal and will have room for failure or mistakes (unlike certain situations in the military). There are resources to learn the core values, the importance of goals (the "mission" in the military), and to think like a soldier published by the various branches themselves. If you do enlist in the military, there will be a lot more learning, you won't escape lifelong learning. 

What is sounds like is lack of a desired strategic outcome. If it helps, the reason I do what I do is for the experiences. The job/career is there to afford new experiences and feed me the money I need to see new places, buy new toys, meet a partner, etc. When in school (military thinking here), graduation is the desired strategic outcome. My operational orders are what need to be done to finish each semester with a high degree of success. Each and every class and assignment is a series of battles, or tactical engagements where I rely on my squadmates (group) to complete every objective thoroughly and efficiently. There is no "end game", rather a chain of desired strategic outcomes and operational orders to achieve what is needed or wanted at the time.

I know this is a bit of a read, but I became a better person, learned to think like a soldier, and developed a sense of discipline by studying the Army's public literature. I hope some of it is useful.

Edit : I just found this while researching a core value :



> "Being a military professional does not mean waiting for the system to develop you."
> 
> - Major Joe Byerly
> "From the Green Notebook" Blog


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

TheProphetLaLa said:


> Are you implying others don't exist? Who are the "others" which don't exist?


I'm saying that if it is true that we are unable to acquire knowledge about the world, then we are unable to acquire knowledge about the presence of other beings. Which many people to be fine with. "Everything is subjective". If so, then I have no reason to believe anything around me exists. There's no reason to pretend to know.


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> I'm saying that if it is true that we are unable to acquire knowledge about the world, then we are unable to acquire knowledge about the presence of other beings. Which many people to be fine with. "Everything is subjective". If so, then I have no reason to believe anything around me exists. There's no reason to pretend to know.


But they do exist. To you and your perception of this world, they exist. If everything is subjective, then there is no such thing as an objective existence. (Or they're one and the same depending on your view.) And so the only thing that exists is your subjective perception. There is no other existence to be had. So it does exist.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

TheProphetLaLa said:


> But they do exist. To you and your perception of this world, they exist. If everything is subjective, then there is no such thing as an objective existence. (Or they're one and the same depending on your view.) And so the only thing that exists is your subjective perception. There is no other existence to be had. So it does exist.


If the world is subjective then it is meaningless. If I died everything would die with me. There's no reason to learn anything because my brain would have made it up in the first place.


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## 1000BugsNightSky (May 8, 2014)

If interest doesn't matter, why don't you try a degree that will be more stable?


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

Moonious said:


> If interest doesn't matter, why don't you try a degree that will be more stable?


One does not simply learn about something that they do not care about. Besides, what will getting a degree do for me or anyone else?


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## TheProphetLaLa (Aug 18, 2014)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> If the world is subjective then it is meaningless. If I died everything would die with me. There's no reason to learn anything because my brain would have made it up in the first place.


Well, what happens if you're wrong and other people do exist? We're going to die either way. You said that humans don't have the knowledge. Does that mean they never will? This is a glass half-empty, glass half-full situation. Instead of saying I don't know so I may as well live my life going after what I want, you're saying I don't know so I may as well give up. Why is it we're all so incapable of accepting the unknown? It seems to be something very human.


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## beth x (Mar 4, 2010)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> What if I dislike people and purposefully waste my talents on the battlefield? This just reminds me of the critical thinking and philosophy thread that I never made. Are smart people obligated to do smart things?


It's your choice, and no, your aren't obligated.


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## Polemic (May 22, 2013)

Seems like a good shortcut to an all expenses paid trip to the sandbox and a parting gift of ptsd for your troubles. I sincerely doubt anything useful has or will come of anything done over there. If you just want to shake yourself up and do something radically different from what you're used to, the military can certainly offer you that. There are lots of good things that can come from joining the military. But none of them have to do with being sent off to a pointless war imo. Join the coast guard, air force or navy at the least if you're intent on joining. Something that would limit your chances of actually being involved in combat while still giving you all the positive and negative experiences of joining the military but not actually ruining you or your life.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

Polemic said:


> Seems like a good shortcut to an all expenses paid trip to the sandbox and a parting gift of ptsd for your troubles. I sincerely doubt anything useful has or will come of anything done over there. If you just want to shake yourself up and do something radically different from what you're used to, the military can certainly offer you that. There are lots of good things that can come from joining the military. But none of them have to do with being sent off to a pointless war imo. Join the coast guard, air force or navy at the least if you're intent on joining. Something that would limit your chances of actually being involved in combat while still giving you all the positive and negative experiences of joining the military but not actually ruining you or your life.


What's the real loss there? You come home, self-congratulate about your 2 confirmed kills and everything is back to normal. That's just having a positive outlook right there.


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## Polemic (May 22, 2013)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> What's the real loss there? You come home, self-congratulate about your 2 confirmed kills and everything is back to normal. That's just having a positive outlook right there.


I mean if that's what you want, I'd recommend the marine corps.


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## FromTheWorldUp (Aug 30, 2010)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> What's the real loss there? You come home, self-congratulate about your 2 confirmed kills and everything is back to normal. That's just having a positive outlook right there.


Seriously are you just trying to troll? Also, the statement that your talents would be wasted in the military is a bit offensive. Some of the most intelligent people I've met are in the military. It's not just made up of a bunch of people who couldn't do anything else.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

FromTheWorldUp said:


> Seriously are you just trying to troll? Also, the statement that your talents would be wasted in the military is a bit offensive. Some of the most intelligent people I've met are in the military. It's not just made up of a bunch of people who couldn't do anything else.


That particular statement was a troll statement.
I was actually thinking about going to another country so that I would get killed early without bearing the responsiblity of committing suicide when I said that (about wasting talents) to clarify.


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## the_natrix (Aug 10, 2011)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> We need more wars to control population and to increase technological standards.


Just become an evil scientist, maybe make a device that alters reality. If you go army eventually you're going to be given a stupid order that you know is stupid and you won't be able to do anything about it.

Anyways if you want to improve your physical health and discipline then find a good dojo, it did wonders for me.


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## FromTheWorldUp (Aug 30, 2010)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> That particular statement was a troll statement.
> I was actually thinking about going to another country so that I would get killed early without bearing the responsiblity of committing suicide when I said that (about wasting talents) to clarify.


I think you need to go get help. I don't think you're in a good state of mind to make any major life decisions right now. If you let your depression go even if you don't hurt yourself physically you'll just let your life fall apart until it's as worthless as you already believe it is. If you have anyone you care about not hurting do it for them before it's too late.


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## Dao (Sep 13, 2013)

I think it would behoove you to seek some treatment so you can make this choice with a clearer mental state. This decision does not have to be about wasted talents or an obligation to produce. It should be about making an informed decision that makes you truly happy, and in my experience, being depressed has rarely resulted in the kinds of choices that have made me happy because it clouds the mind and distorts the concept. The one major decision I don't regret making while depressed was the one to get treated.


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