I would not say I have a strict set of precepts that I think about every day, but over time there are a few things that I have picked up that have become part of my nature and how I try to move through life.

In no particular order...

Try not to be off putting to other people.

Try to treat others with respect.

Do not wrong people or take advantage of others.

Do not take anything that is not yours.

Try to do some good while you are here.

Try not to be too hard on yourself.

Try not to sweat or overthink the small stuff.

Try to be honest, even when it is uncomfortable.

Try not to waste time trying to change things you cannot change.

Try to listen more than you speak.

Try to keep your word when you give it.

Try to stay grateful for what you already have.

Be reliable.

Try to take responsibility for your own mistakes without excuses.

Try to leave people and situations a little better off than how you found them.

Try to value consistency over intensity.

Try to spend time thinking things through. Not everything needs to be answered or decided upon right away.

Try to remember that how you treat people when you are stressed says more than how you treat them when everything is easy.

It is not always a perfect plan, and I do not always get it right, but these are the kind of things that sit in the background and help keep me on the straight and narrow.

6 minutes ago, Pear Shaped said:

Try not to be off putting to other people.

Try to treat others with respect.

Do not wrong people or take advantage of others.

Do not take anything that is not yours.

Try to do some good while you are here.

Try not to be too hard on yourself.

Try not to sweat or overthink the small stuff.

Try to be honest, even when it is uncomfortable.

Try not to waste time trying to change things you cannot change.

Try to listen more than you speak.

Try to keep your word when you give it.

Try to stay grateful for what you already have.

Be reliable.

How about stop trying and just take it easy.

True confidence is walking into a room and not caring what others think of you.

8 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

True confidence is walking into a room and not caring what others think of you.

Or on an internet forum

17 minutes ago, Pear Shaped said:

Try to listen more than you speak.

never met anybody who does that

20 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

True confidence is walking into a room and not caring what others think of you.

That is also over confidence...............walk into wrong room...........exit with none.........

23 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

True confidence is walking into a room and not caring what others think of you.

I would call that a combination of ignorance and arrogance.

13 minutes ago, Keeps said:

I would call that a combination of ignorance and arrogance.

A.K.A "Douchebag" for short.

52 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

True confidence is walking into a room and not caring what others think of you.

Yet in reality, you would sheepishly walk into a room full of people, immediately grab the first available chair, retreat into a corner with it, and start fiercely hammering out another 100 snarky messages on your phone and out into the void, which nobody wants.

Edited May 21May 21 by BilllyGOAT

48 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

never met anybody who does that

One of my mentors taught me that on, bit different spin. Try to be the dumbest person in the room & listen. If you're the smartest, you're not learning anything.

3 hours ago, Off Piste said:

That is also over confidence...............walk into wrong room...........exit with none.........

Confidence comes from the ability to perform tasks. Mental strength, physical strength.

The opinions of others is just waffle.

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

One of my mentors taught me that on, bit different spin. Try to be the dumbest person in the room & listen. If you're the smartest, you're not learning anything.

Shame these forums are full of dumb people. Maybe a chess forum is the way to go.

"The opinions of others is none of my business"

That quote is a masterclass in mental freedom. It’s widely attributed to Sir Anthony Hopkins, who has spoken often in interviews about the immense relief of letting go of other people's expectations as he aged.

The full sentiment he often expresses boils down to a simple, liberating truth: What people think of you is their projection, not your reality.

When you truly adopt this mindset, a few massive shifts happen:

• You reclaim your energy: Trying to manage, predict, or influence what someone else thinks about you is an absolute exhausting hamster wheel. It's a game you can't win because their opinions are filtered through their insecurities, their past, and their mood—none of which you can control.

• You stop seeking permission: When the need for external validation drops to zero, you finally start making choices purely based on what is authentic, effective, and right for you.

• It cuts both ways: The flip side of "none of my business" is that you also stop taking things so personally. If someone thinks you're arrogant, or crazy, or brilliant, or foolish—that's just the narrative they’ve built. You're too busy living your life to read their script.

It takes a lot of self-possession to get to that point, but once you're there, it’s pure peace. Everything else is just background noise.

18 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Confidence comes from the ability to perform tasks. Mental strength, physical strength.

The opinions of others is just waffle.

Yes, and we all love how you’re such a subtle chap of so few words, so tirelessly busy performing vital tasks and really getting things done. Pure strength and a true man of the people, naturally, and never once guilty of a shred of waffle.

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And only 58,000+ posts!

20 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Shame these forums are full of dumb people. Maybe a chess forum is the way to go.

I am all for it. Go chess all in and completely forget about AN. Best idea you have ever had.

7 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

"The opinions of others is none of my business"

That quote is a masterclass in mental freedom. It’s widely attributed to Sir Anthony Hopkins, who has spoken often in interviews about the immense relief of letting go of other people's expectations as he aged.

The full sentiment he often expresses boils down to a simple, liberating truth: What people think of you is their projection, not your reality.

When you truly adopt this mindset, a few massive shifts happen:

• You reclaim your energy: Trying to manage, predict, or influence what someone else thinks about you is an absolute exhausting hamster wheel. It's a game you can't win because their opinions are filtered through their insecurities, their past, and their mood—none of which you can control.

• You stop seeking permission: When the need for external validation drops to zero, you finally start making choices purely based on what is authentic, effective, and right for you.

• It cuts both ways: The flip side of "none of my business" is that you also stop taking things so personally. If someone thinks you're arrogant, or crazy, or brilliant, or foolish—that's just the narrative they’ve built. You're too busy living your life to read their script.

It takes a lot of self-possession to get to that point, but once you're there, it’s pure peace. Everything else is just background noise.

WARNING!

AI SLOP INCOMING!

3 hours ago, save the frogs said:

Or on an internet forum

Perfect example of projection. You never find positive forums. Like home biased soccer crowds. Cheering one side and booing the other. Small minded people dominate the crowd. No hopers booing guys who make 30m to defeat their fav team.

15 minutes ago, Alpha84 said:

Yes, and we all love how you’re such a subtle chap of so few words, so tirelessly busy performing vital tasks and really getting things done. Pure strength and a true man of the people, naturally, and never once guilty of a shred of waffle.

Sparktrader, Joined February 24 2021, Posts 10,564

bignok, Joined March 11 2023, Posts 12,657

maesariang, Joined October 26 2023, Posts 2,644

uttradit, Joined January 23 2024, Posts 1,602

Dolf, Joined February 18 2024, Posts 3,015

susanlea, Joined April 12 2024, Posts 5,123

Harrisfan, Joined February 6 2025, Posts 18,420

khaosokman, Joined February 22 2026, Posts 1,422

Rockyroad, Joined March 16 2026, Posts 2,672

And only 58,000+ posts!

Just think how many posts it would have been if he didn't have to sit out so many bans. The number would be mind boggling.

12 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Perfect example of projection. You never find positive forums. Like home biased soccer crowds. Cheering one side and booing the other. Small minded people dominate the crowd. No hopers booing guys who make 30m to defeat their fav team.

Translated into simple English: I am drunk, lonely, babbling incessantly, trying to be nasty, but not making any understandable sense.

5 minutes ago, Keeps said:

Just think how many posts it would have been if he didn't have to sit out so many bans. The number would be mind boggling.

Indeed, and such a tragic and sad loss for the rest of us. If only he could have made another 100K+ posts already by now. But we need to look at the situation as "glass half full" and simply treasure all the blessings we do have from him.

4 hours ago, novacova said:

How about stop trying and just take it easy.

Mai pen rai

The Thai attitude to life

Such nice people

Compare them to farangs lol

13 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Mai pen rai

The Thai attitude to life

Such nice people

Compare them to farangs lol

Why not publish a detailed “how to” guide for the rest of us on how to become a truly lovely farang, so we can all benefit from your obvious mastery of the technique? It would prolly make the Bangkok Post bestseller list within a week. And never mind that reputation number of yours on AN. We all solemnly promise not to look at it under any circumstances.

You're too busy living your life to read their script.

You've chosen to ignore content by Alpha84.

Lol

5 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

You're too busy living your life to read their script.

You've chosen to ignore content by Alpha84.

Lol

RR's 1-2-3 definition of putting you on ignore:

Make drunken posts about you to self.

Read all your posts anyway.

Then silently whimper.

Lol

Nothing more funny than seeing an ignored user make 7 posts in a short space of time. No doubt ranting into their computer. Hilarious.

Girlfriend's definition of ignoring someone: Reading everyone of their posts, replying to each of them in the 3rd person, all the while begging that they finally stop embarrassing her because she can't take it anymore. Must need a diaper change.

2 hours ago, Rockyroad said:

Confidence comes from the ability to perform tasks. Mental strength, physical strength.

All true

2 hours ago, Rockyroad said:

The opinions of others is just waffle.

That is a matter of opinion...............

Yes.....they are called morals.

7 hours ago, KhunLA said:

One of my mentors taught me that on, bit different spin. Try to be the dumbest person in the room & listen. If you're the smartest, you're not learning anything.

From Broadcast News (movie) 1987:

Paul Moore: It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you're the smartest person in the room.

Jane Craig: No. It's awful.

7 hours ago, Rockyroad said:

Shame these forums are full of dumb people. Maybe a chess forum is the way to go.

Do you know any high ranked players? And ever tried to have a normal conversation with them?