The Four Agreements Don Miguel Ruiz Analysis

Society experienced to achieve perfection in many ways, almost since the beginning of humanity, and is almost impossible so many attempts fail and cause severe consequences. In “the perfect match” by Ken Liu, short story and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, short story. Perfection is people ignoring what really matter. People are not unique anymore because society is limiting with an idea of what is not accepted or normal is not perfect. Societies’ desire of perfection makes people go desperate and feel alone.

In “Losing is Good for You”, Ashley Merryman instills the idea that society celebrates the essence of success that children achieve in any aspect of their life whether they deserve it or not. Merryman further explains that by celebrating success or, more importantly, the idea that every child is a winner, society takes away the fundamental ideas of hard work. Merryman states that as society limits the opportunity for children to experience failure, this leads to the destruction of the core beliefs of what is the true meaning of winning is and undermines overall determination, and it lowers the desire for children to work hard.

The Four Agreements is a “Toltec Wisdom book” written by Miguel Ruiz. Miguel Ruiz is a Mexican author who is best known as part of a “New Age” movement which binds ancient teachings with spiritual enlightenment. Ruiz is known as one the most spiritually influential peoples alive in 2014. The Toltec religion (or culture depending on how you view it), originated in Mexico in around 900 CE. Aztecs viewed the Toltecs as their predecessors and think that Toltec-ism is the essence of civilization. While Toltec teachings can be spiritual and eye opening for some, historians believe that majority of the teachings and stories are all mythological and not so real.

Ever since the existence of civilization, a fine boundary exists between human’s self-motivation and the expectation of social mechanism. As society progresses, this boundary is being gradually pushed against the will of individuals and favors the social construct. Unlike how people in the past were often inspired by their individual desires and goals, members of the new generation develop a perception of success that is heavily bounded by society’s expectations. Nonetheless, there are still individuals who are also motivated by their own values and dreams. These people are willing to step outside of the realm of ‘standard success’ and strive for what constitutes as success in their opinion. The following texts- “Project Classroom

“Do not be concerned about the future; keep your attention on today, and stay in the present moment. Just live one day at a time. Always do your best to keep these agreements, and soon it will be easy for you. Today is the beginning of a new dream.”

Don’t make assumptions is the 3rd agreement in Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements. This talks about the problem of our everyday assumptions. We believe they are the truth and could swear they are real even though we have no idea. We make assumptions about others on what they are doing and thinking and take it personally. They often end up causing problems and hurting relationships. We make assumptions more than we think, even about ourselves. On our way to class we open the door and expect to see our classroom and other students rather than a black hole. Ruiz isn’t talking about these when he says don’t make assumptions; you can expect not to fall through every door you open. He is talking about when we are texting and someone isn’t replying

“Competition was the cause of many social problems, causing good people to behave badly.” Were the words of Walter Rauschenbusch. Therefore, without the individual thought and behaviors which are just as important as abiding by the societal expectations, we cannot be the best humans that we can be.

In fact, this theory proposes that, “to live is to feel inferior” (Mosak 1995). However, when the individual begins to act inferior rather than feel inferior, the individual is engaging in “discouragement” or the inferiority complex (Mosak 1995). “To oversimplify, the inferiority feeling is universal and ‘normal’; the inferiority complex reflects the discouragement of a limited segment of our society and is usually ‘abnormal’” (Mosak 1995). This theory views the healthy and “ideal” individual as one who engages in life experiences with confidence and optimism. “There is a sense of belonging and contributing, the ‘courage to be imperfect,’ and the serene knowledge that one can be acceptable to others, although imperfect” (Mosak 1995).

“The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better.”

One’s future is a direct effect of his/hers’ past. According too C. Wright Mills, “ your past plays into and affects your present, and that it defines your capacity for future experience” (pg. 196). If it weren’t for one’s past, him/her would not be where

After reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz I realized I’ve been living dreams of other people in my life and not my own. It was decided early on what I should do, what’s possible and what’s not. Starting at birth we are told what to think by our parents, schools, and church. Subconsciously, we have made agreements with them to live our life according to their rules. Don Miguel believes that these agreements are self-limiting and shares four agreements that if we adapt into our lives we will reach true peace and happiness. The book made so much sense to me, but the hard part is to actually commit to living out the four agreements. In short, the four agreements are listed below:

A healthy society should not be obsessed with winning. Winning, after all, isn’t what makes someone the best at something. Sure, Suzy could win the tennis match, but if she has no drive to repeat the action of winning again, what’s the point? One example of why the desire to win is best is found in the life of Albert Einstein. This man didn’t really excel in school, but he kept working and trying his hardest. In fact, he eventually went to solve many of the great mysteries of physics. However, he didn’t make his discoveries until later in life. This shows that if one keeps working hard things will eventually work themselves out, even if it takes. Another example of this principle can found in the life of Phiona. She learned to play chess as a little girl in the slums of Uganda, and she eventually went on to become a chess champion. She, however, wasn’t always the best at chess. She lost the very first game she ever played, and this loss sparked her desire to improve the game and to eventually win many matches. She proves

As Emerson perceived the world, “Man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted eye laments the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoes to foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time” (“Self-Reliance” 833-834). Even if a man finds himself with both self-trust and originality, he may never realize his true potential if he is preoccupied with past events or future fortunes. Emerson finds these obsessions to be utterly useless: “Discontent is the want of self-reliance; it is the infirmity of will. Regret calamities, if you can thereby help the sufferer; if not, attend to your own work, and already the evil begins to be repaired” (838). In contemporary society, a willingness to “live in the moment” is highly regarded, especially among youth, yet this acceptance seems to wane with age. Nevertheless, excessive anxiousness and nostalgia are a waste of the potential that can be realized when the truths of the present are

History is what which defines an individual. What a person is in present is because of his/her past. What he would be in future is determined by the present. Thus history of an individual is directly or indirectly intertwined between the identities of individuals. The disparities in identity of an individual could be traced in his history and surprisingly it could be traced in his fore fathers. Thus the past cannot be ignored and thus it becomes an integral part of an individual. The quote cited in the beginning of the work suggests about forgetting the past and working for future. But here we need to look upon another thought too. That is of Swami Vivekananda. He says “Your present is determined by your past and the future by your present”.

Together, we can lower the numbers of people dying from eating disorders and cosmetic surgeries by resisting the beauty ideal. We can choose “to not participate in the beauty rituals, to not support the industries that produce both images and products, and to create other definitions of beauty” (WVFV, pg. 232). The most crucial and easiest solution is to create other definitions of beauty. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide what is beautiful. What if someone decided that the only thing that could contribute to one’s beauty is who someone is on the inside? Wouldn’t our world be a completely different place? Instead of