There is merit to peace of mind, but attempting to find tranquility in a turbulent world, uncovering peace in an action based existence, counters our productive ability. This oneness mentality has grown in popularity, spurred forward by specific health and wellness practices which focus on feminine energy. While these forms of wellness have a place, we have become so excessively focused on discovering, and then remaining, in a perfect state of flow filled with peace and world acceptance that we avoid confrontation at the expense of creating things by being bold.
We have lost some of our passion and will to follow our own oracle regardless of what dissension spreads because of our attempts to be at one with the world, and, in lieu of that, have turned away from work that creates a meaningful impact. Meaningful work always challenges the status quo, and anytime you challenge you move away from peace and travel towards masculine values such as aggression, boldness, and chaos.
Most people are exceptional creatures living in mediocre ways because they have become addicted to living an even keel life and fear making waves. They do not want to rock the boat and care more about everyone else than themselves. Here are some axioms, for example, that most people do not understand or believe:
- You are capable of way more than you think you are
- You can learn and retain more information than you believe
- Limitations regarding human potentiality, exist only in the mind
Conflict
Conflict breeds growth. Conflict means that you are on an uncomfortable, different course that connects with some, but not with others. I’m always leery of anything that the majority of people find acceptable. Anything popular and likeable is usually wrong because it is easy. Taking popular actions does not create growth.
On the other side, you do not need to create conflict intentionally to create change. Dissension arises out of your doing anything new and original. If you are not comfortable with conflict, or are currently not getting comfortable with confrontation, then you are missing out on an essential part of getting things done. Conflict even exists between people who believe in the same mission statement, as their execution might differ. Great things are born from challenging one another. We don’t always need to be at peace with everyone.
I remember back to the first few times I created conflict, a long time ago now. Doing so felt weird. We are not raised to challenge. We are raised to accept. We have been told that the people at the higher part of the pyramid, bosses, priests, law enforcement, judges, know more than we do and we should always listen to what they have to say. That simply is not the case. Good ideas come from everywhere.
Creation and Chaos
The process of creating or challenging the status quo requires destruction and chaos. You must, at times, forcefully push forward agendas that are unpopular in the eyes of others by being bold. Often, these agendas are unpopular only because they are different and never before seen.
When you seek to create something new, or fulfill a grand aspiration you need values such as aggression, conflict, and boldness to succeed. These things are essential to the creation process, but are also values associated with masculine, not feminine energy. Many modern health and wellness practices infused with concepts such as oneness and inner peace have bred a politic correctness and softness of values unfit for challenging the status quo.
T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men” exemplifies this concept. He wrote “the world ends/ not with a bang but a whimper.” He foresaw our reluctance for conflict, and realized that humans would waste away, disillusioned by reality and afraid to challenge things they knew should be challenged. We have lost our form. Our conviction.
Fearing conflict, we float through life as perfectly amiable humans. It is not that we are bad, we are just perfectly average. You can spot these people in an instant. They are boring. They play safe. They are passionless and afraid of risk. But, most of all, their lives are structured to minimize chaos.
Instead of being risk takers and dreamers they fear chaos. So, the easiest way to change and become a person who bucks the system is by accepting chaos as a natural part of life. All things grow from chaos, from unstructured systems that finds balance over time. Anytime you find yourself getting comfortable, become afraid. Normal is the bane of creation.
Being Bold
Shake yourself out of the slump when you feel like you are just “spinning your tires,” and live with conviction. Have opinions, strong ones. Live courageously. Accept being wrong sometimes, but also right other times. Avoid being hollow, a talking head with no conviction or action.
Disrupt as a way to produce better results. Always think that things could be better than what they are, and then, instead of complaining, work to change those things. Be the solution, not a passive bystander. Be bold.
Acting in this manner is a mindset, and changing a mindset requires changing your perspective through questions. Whenever you encounter a situation where you are not sure what to do, or where your inner you wants to resist, ask yourself why. Seek to know what makes you fight back.
Seek big goals. Big goals end in big results, and are no more difficult to reach than small goals. Being bold might make you polarizing, but it also gets things done. The hardest part of achieving any goal is generating momentum towards the objective. This is equally difficult for big and small goals. So, if you are going to devote the energy to creating momentum towards a specific direction make it a direction filled with lofty ambitions.
Finally, seek inner peace and balance, but embrace chaos in your actions. Embrace an inner calm and outer calamity.
See dissension everywhere, not just for the sake of creating chaos, but in instances where doing so makes things better. Become a person that others hate because if the way you always challenge things and you will love yourself.
Originally Published On HanksDailyDose.com
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash