Heh, this thread is gold. I expected it would get this response after reading the article, hehe.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Seeker5 So you're saying it's better to be a moocher then to work in something you don't absolutely love?
Hmmmm. Lots of people in the world are on welfare....you're suggesting we increase that number? |
Steve has already replied to you, but I'll add something...
Interpreting Steve’s writing effectively
_________________________________________
This article (ie. the one we're discussing) is an example of Steve doing what he does best. He's not directly trying to tell you what to do, although for a lot of people it would certainly not hurt to take Steve's advice. What Steve is
really doing is trying to shake you up a bit, get people out of an apathetic, fear based state, and raise their awareness so that they can start making decisions consciously.
If you read every article Steve writes as something you must listen to, I'm pretty sure you'd go nuts. That doesn't mean that Steve's advice is bad. Rather, what it does mean is that largely you aren't Steve, and you don't have the same knowledge as Steve, the same background, experience, preferences, goals, dreams, etc. I once fell into the trap of "listening to Steve because he must be right", but not even he advocates that, and I too soon learned it was a dead end. To quote Steve
in a Q&A he did:
Quote:
Why should I believe anything you say?
I don’t recommend that you do.
|
Learning when and how to trust yourself
_________________________________________
I've since developed a new paradigm for Steve's writing. Now I see Steve as someone who sets a brilliant example -- an example that greatly inspires me -- but I always check in with my “internal compass” before I charge ahead with something Steve’s said or recommended. If the specific info he provides is useful relative to me, I'll make use of it, but if not, I simply leave it be and continue along my path, even if I'm not 100% clear if I'm on the right path or where I am heading.
Learning to trust myself enough to give myself the benefit of the doubt when I feel what I'm doing is right has been tremendously valuable, and while I don't have much external success, I can't help but feel as if all the internal resources I've been cultivating will soon begin to reflect in the external world.
You see you can follow Steve's advice all you want, but if you're merely following it instead of consciously deciding whether or not it's right for you, you're doing exactly what Steve is attempting to stop you from doing.
Want proof? Well, if you do something that Steve recommends with the belief that, "yes, Steve's right, I should listen to him" when deep down you know that you're really just following the advice to cop out of facing the difficult aspects of your life (whether they be external circumstances or internal emotions, thoughts, feelings, etc), if you follow his advice and hit a snag (whether it's big, small, or potentially life threatening), saying, "but I was just listening to Steve! He said this is what I should do!!!" will provide you no solace.
The only solace you will get is when you learn to start trusting yourself and making decisions that are congruent with who you are deep down, because when you do that, I think you’ll find that even if you do make mistakes, you knew you were doing your very best.
What if you weren’t doing your best? Well then you get to learn that you weren’t staying as true to yourself as you thought you were, and while such lessons can often be painful/uncomfortable, they are important “battle scars” that teach you that staying true to yourself is not just an option, but a necessity and something that you don’t want to ever settle on. Do try your best to avoid “flesh wounds” wherever possible, though. Those smart pretty bad.
Bringing this down to earth – how I interpreted Steve’s article
_________________________________________
I always talk about very high level, general concepts that aren’t very concrete when I make posts, so I’ll share how Steve’s article influenced me to give some further depth to what I’ve already written.
The main message I see behind Steve’s article is not the specific words or advice, but the message of “living the way you yearn to live is possible, and you deserve to do whatever it takes to make it so”. While Steve gives a specific call to action in the article (ie. “quit your job, go do what you love and survive on handouts if you have to), I see past his extremely good and highly effective strategy of taking a heavily polarised stance to raise awareness. Steve’s specific advice is something I considered only briefly, momentarily checking in with my internal compass to say, “should I quit my job, or would that be off course for me?”.
It didn’t take long for me to know what was right for me as I’ve developed a good sense for what resonates with my true self and my desires/preference, and while I decided not to take Steve’s advice (at least not immediately), I did take something away from the article.
You see I'm in a situation where I do about 85% of what I love to do (which includes figuring out what I love to do and working towards it), 15% of work and other stuff that I don't love to do. Steve’s article gave me just that little bit more of reinforcement when it comes to believing in myself instead of listening to the pity party around me that is so eager to have me join them, and it also strengthens my resolve when it comes to making my website, something I’ve recently decided to go ahead with even though I’m very unclear of exactly what to do or what I’ll even use it for specifically. The whole experience is so attractive to me that I don’t care about the details, and I just want to go ahead with it and enjoy exploring the deliciousness of the manifestation. (Apparently I’ve been listening to too much Abraham-Hicks.
)
Internally I can feel bad-feeling emotional as thoughts of “is this the right decision? Maybe I should listen to Steve...”, and while I used to indulge that voice, it lead to nothing but dead-ends. Only yesterday I succumbed to that voice, indulging it and it’s trickery, paying no attention to my state of awareness and the negative emotions that were signaling I was moving upstream and off course. But I’ve gone down that route enough to know where it leads, and when I recognised what I was doing, I snapped myself out of it, regained my composure by listening to some empowering, positive personal development audio, and pushing on ahead with a new resolve.
If it was up to that voice, right now I’d probably still be trying to figure out what to do with my website, reacting out of fear of what people will think of me, doubting my abilities, and buying into the limiting belief that I don’t have anything of value to offer, which will become a reality if that’s what I focus on. But I choose to be inspired by imaginary wonders rather then imaginary fears. Just talking about it, I feel the strong pull that compels me to fall into the black hole of disempowerment, but that is the voice of fear, doubt, and disbelief in yourself, and it runs contrary to the very essence of your true self.
What do you want to experience: ego or awareness?
_________________________________________
Sure, what the voice of fear asks may be an intelligent question, but unfortunately it’s packaged in a toxic parcel that is designed to draw you into its trap with it’s sirens song of “reason” and “intelligence” and pull you back out of a state of awareness and into a state of fear that is designed to perpetuate and protect a mental sense of self that has no real existence in reality. The intelligent external package is just bait that covers something much more sinister; something that is designed to take control of you without you even knowing it.
If you are following the path of a lightworker (ie. being true to your “best self”), this is not the route you want to take. Awareness is essential. It is the sword that cuts through the quagmire of doubt, disbelief, and fear, and gives you the power to forge ahead and carve out your own path in life.
Recommended reading
_________________________________________