Do you know what’s right?
Do you know if what you’re chasing; the life that you’re living or ‘planning’ to live is the most correct one? The most justified?
How do you decide if it is?
And if you’re committed to it, how do you know if your commitment isn’t a retaliation against your past or you running from what’s more true?
…
There are definitely versions of truth, layers.
More lie than truth and vice versa.
And it’s the world we soak up around us that gives us meaning and direction…
But it’s not because what’s happening in the world is evidence of what’s important, it’s because our perception of what’s happening in the world moves us to do whatever we do…or want to do.
We get to decide every day.
And therefore drastically direct our lives toward or away from our desires.
…
When it comes to universal truths they’re actually very rare:
Morality, love, mortality, biology, history…
There are very few things that 99% of the world will agree on, and even that’s arguable.
But another one that we all seem to agree on is the instinct to want more.
(Don’t think toxically. More can be anything.)
More love, more opportunity, more joy, more wisdom, more power, more money…
We’ll all have a bias toward these things but none of us truly want less. Because even to want less would mean to have more of what makes that thing less.
Less pressure as a CEO means more relaxation.
Less time at work means more time for family.
Less bad food and stillness means more good food and stimulation.
You get what I mean…
…
Your perception is running most of your life.
That could be good for you or bad.
Our perception is adaptable and capable of mutating, in either direction btw…
It’s the fixed vs. growth mindset.
The issue is that, whether it’s inherent or conditioned, most of us fall victim to our perceptions. We see the danger or risk in what lies in front of us and we hesitate to face it.
And to keep ourselves from falling into a depression, we may continue — subconsciously, unknowingly — after our goals in a poor manner just to convince ourselves that we’re doing what we need to do.
If an athlete can’t face the risk of injury, they may train timidly to avoid it.
If an orator fears the embarrassment of a stage, they may overly practice their speech to avoid it.
If a man is afraid to approach someone he likes, he may find excuses for every potential approach to avoid it.
But…
The athlete will never compete at the highest level.
The orator will never step on stage and feel their success.
The man will never approach the woman and find love.
…
Our perceptions are subjective.
They are how we decide on what’s good and evil, right and wrong, worth it and not worth it.
Yet, our basic instinct to protect ourselves almost always keeps us from taking extreme risks that can give us the more that we’re so desperately after.
…
Here’s the gist of it:
The lies of our perception are provable when we can foreshadow what it keeps from us.
If we never gain the joy, money, power, community, or opportunity that we’re after, it’s because of the lie that we told ourselves about avoiding the obstacles we face.
And it comes down to how we have the conversations with ourselves. The conversation between our instinct and our desire.
If we can separate those two personalities inside of us, we can be more in control of the actions we take and the very important amount of repetition it takes to continuously act.
You never have to be who you think you are.
And if we act more often, our love of self and our perception of the incoming world will change for the better.
We can have our more.
Truth and Love, Reader.
…
If you like my writing and the things I question, you might( I mean…probably) also like the questions and more personal thoughts in my newsletter. Find it with the link below on Substack.
There are so many great stories on Medium! If you want to have access to some of the best writing by thousands of creators, start your membership with the link below, which will also support my writing.
Remember…question everything!
https://therebelminded.substack.com/
https://therebelminded.medium.com/membership
—
This post was previously published on medium.com.
***
From The Good Men Project on Medium
What Does Being in Love and Loving Someone Really Mean? | My 9-Year-Old Accidentally Explained Why His Mom Divorced Me | The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex | The Internal Struggle Men Battle in Silence |
***
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—–
Photo credit: mahdi rezaei on Unsplash