Vineeto: Why make it so complicated as if it were a duty to “cultivate a sense of being behooved to be happy and harmless for myself”? The straightforward question is – do you want to feel good? You know that is feels good to feel good, so where is the problem? And that in itself is worth contemplating.
Jon: A problem is real-life goals and values. I was thinking that maybe if I changed those goals and values than I’d have more success. Valuing happy and harmlessness as a virtue to be proud of might help.
Hi Jon,
So you are presently assessing if doing something about peace-on-earth via actualism is a worthwhile goal in life for you?
Vineeto: Btw, did you know that Raffensperger was coerced to hold back the votes – his son-in-law was killed in a “mysterious” car accident exactly at that time and the guilty driver never brought to justice. These guys play for keeps!
Jon: I did not know that. Asking more questions and good questions is very helpful. It prevents one from falling into rabbit holes and jumping to conclusions. You can review this particular very unfortunate footnote of the 2020 election by looking up Harrison Deal and Mario Demaine Clark.
Thank you for the tip. I looked up what I could find. It seems that my memory wasn’t accurate. It was his son who was killed. I have for now lost interest in watching current affairs – the situation is always dire. 
Jon: Back to the better part of our conversation. I feel a renewal lately. At 48, I am experiencing a mid-life crisis. It is too late for me to be a family man and a successful professional or businessman. It seems taking pride in always being mirthful and never feeling pressured takes the sting away from missing out on having kids and not having a big network of friends or enough luxury money to travel on the drop of a dime or just completely retire right now if I wanted. Without that sting, which can cause some gloominess, it is easier to feel blithesome. (link)
Well, if pride is the source of your ‘blithesomeness’ then with this motivation only, actualism is not for you – the actualism method is designed to diminish all ‘good’ and bad feelings in order to experience the felicitous and innocuous feelings. Pride is a ‘good’ feeling, whilst hurt pride or unfulfilled pride leads to feeling bad.
I recommend Richard’s article “Peace on Earth in this Life-Time” (link) as an introduction for what actualism is about, and perhaps other of Richard’s articles, or even read Richard’s journal, before you make such a life-changing decision.
Cheers Vineeto