Before the class activity, I had an idea of how I wanted to take the equations on ego,

Ideal + Real = Me

Ideal – Comfortzone = Better Me

Ideal x Order = Ideal Me

Balance + Exposure = Me in 5 years

This was gathered in the class activity.

With the contribution of the class, its seems to me that this project should be on values and qualities that are clearest and most significant to me. My struggles of the values of the ideal and realistic seem to show in the way I think critically about things in life. From the practice I realize that my idea of the ideal and real are split in two, making up who I am (ideal + real). I also see that I am missing Order to be ideal and better.

Then, upon deeper reflection, I realized that Order is present both in the Ideal and in the Real. What the matter really is, is in balancing both Orders in life. From this reflection in class, I deduced that the Ideal Me should be [Ideal x Real], which is in contrast of [Ideal + Real]. The difference is that one sees two entities as separates while the other sees them as a whole. It is as how 1 + 1 = 2 and how 1 x 1 = 1, the latter being the holistic ideal.

Ideal + Real = Me

Ideal x Real = the Ideal Me

Then, I looked at the second equation that made up the Better Me. I realized that what I would want to actually aim for is the Ideal Me. Therefore, I equated the Better Me with the Ideal Me as I had the desire to find out what I can do to be as holistic as I can be.

(Ideal + Real) – ? = Ideal x Real

So here’s a bit of math…

Letting A be the Ideal and B be the Real, and letting X be the unknown,

(A+B) – X = AB

So what is X?

X = (A+B) – AB

This is the formula of the problem that stands in-between the current Me and the Ideal Me.

Fitting it into the equation of the Better Me,

As the Better Me is Equated to the Ideal Me, Better Me = AB

Therefore,

(A+B) – [(A+B)-AB] = AB

I asked myself if this made sense. It does mathematically, but conceptually?

Then I realized that this equation of the Better Me, talks about the struggle to be better.

As X = [(Me) – The Ideal Me], it tells me that I must put aside the mentality and the the Ideal (A) and the Real (B) are separate and that the Idealistic and the Realistic cannot go together, that they cannot be balanced and coexist. In order to achieve such an ideal, I must be extremely disciplined and ordered to will myself to unite both entities to be a better person.

As for the last equation, I am still thinking about it. While we jotted down what we want of ourselves in 5 years’ time, that itself is an ideal and it cannot be real until it happens in 5 years’ time. Therefore the equation itself, I am basing it on the Ideal Me, because that is what I dream to be.

 AB x time/age/exposure = Me is 5 years

 

So to summarise what I have so far, Letting the Ideal be A and the Real be B,

A + B = Me

A x B = Ideal Me

(A + B) – [(A+B) – AB] = Better Me

AB + Exposure/Time/Age = Me in 5 years