[Frankie]

Still Growing....

Thank you for your replies. My thoughts exactly.

I am a huge Steve fan. I have referred tons of people to his blog. I love it. I love the way he approaches things. He has given me hope that I can be a better person.

But this polarity thing - no matter which way I slice it just seems like a huge self-deception. In the most recent blog about career and polarity, it made more sense because it seemed like Steve was simply talking about ways to approach doing work.

For instance... I have an assignment in front of me, and I must get down to business and work hard on it. The person who isn't clear about whether they want to do the assignment to benefit others or if they want to do the assignment to further their own career will somehow have those two energies flowing at the same time, negating each other, and ultimately not get the assignment done as quickly or as well as the person who feels singularly motivated by something. The person that is truly committed at their core to do the assignment to improve the lives of people and the person who is truly committed at their core to furthuring their career.... both of these people will be more effective workers.

That makes sense. But to make this a life code that people live by? Either building yourself up or building up other people and to think that EVERY SINGLE decision you will ever make will be motivated by one of those extremes? It just feels WRONG. It feels like a lie. As Still Growing said.... people are more complicated than that.

I guess I feel like, in this instance, personal development is being taken too far.... when it gets to the point where we have to label ourselves as light or dark and that is the only way that we can believe that we are going to do truly great things...... I feel that a line has been crossed here.

I think there is some value to having a singular motivation in certain isolated instances. But I'm not sure that being fully polarized for one's entire life is at all realistic.

And I am still not convinced that steve is fully polarized. Steve - do you take nice vacations? Do you buy nice clothes? Do you live in a house that is *just* big enough or do you have a bonus room with a pool table?

I completely understand what you're saying that for someone to give to the world, they must satisfy their own needs first. And that's not just food/water/shelter.... that's a lot of different things. I understand that you need a vacation from time to time to get away, clear your head, and relax so that you can provide good articles for people like me who read them and feel inspired. I understand that nice clothes might make you feel good and might increase your confidence and, thus, further improve your ability to give back. I understand that if you and your family didn't have enough space to really relax at home, then you might feel compressed, uncomfortable, and a bit unhappy.

Pretty much anything that you give yourself... you can justify that you need it in order to do your best job..... for OTHERS. Which is why.... to me.... this all seems to be grounded in semantics more than anything else.

If the job that you had wasn't providing YOU with enough resources.... then, you'd find one that provided you with more. Because... you need the godiva chocoate to feel truly in a place to give back, right? You need the hour long massage to relax and get ready to work? You NEED this, and that... and the other thing....

But, what we "need" is all relative. It's based on our standard of living and what we expect. It's amazing how our needs decrease to adjust for a lower standard of living or a higher one, depending on income.

A lightworker will always be immersed in his or her own life... the standard of living... the income level that he or she has. And their "needs" will go along with that. It seems incredibly silly to assert that EVERYTHING that you do as a lightworker ultimately comes back to the desire to give to other people. It's simply not true. If it were - then you would work to decrease your standard of living in whatever way you could (without compromising your health or your family's health) so that you could give more.

And, frankly, that's just silly. I don't think that Steve does that. And when I say that it's "silly"... I don't mean that it would be a stupid way to approach things. I simply mean - we're PEOPLE! We want the godiva chocolate and the bubble bath and the massage and the european vacation and all of that.... no matter how much of a "lightworker" one claims to be..... we want things. Things that we don't need. Things that will NOT increase our productivity to others. We just do. Steve - please correct me if I'm wrong, but... looking at your life, do you NEED all of the stuff that you currently have in order to continue to increase your giving output? Can you honestly say that there is NOTHING that you possess that you don't need or wouldn't need if you decreased your standard of living just a tad (note: not decreasing your income, decreasing your standard of living AT your income level)? If the answer is no, then honestly - I probably won't believe you. Part of the reason that I like your blog is because I consider you to be human.

As a mental focus for doing work.... I see how the polarization concept is very effective. But, as a concept of managing personal finances, I think it is rife with self-deception and rationalization.