Thanks, Fiar, for such a clear description of the two polarization extremes.
The discussion of polarization initially confused me, too. I read all of Steve's posts on it, and it just didn't sit right. Listening to the podcast helped only a little.
At the I Can Do It conference, a few of us discussed it, and one person explained it in a way that finally made sense to me. (She's posted her view
here.) Like Fiar, she described it in terms of self-motivated vs others-motivated.
Since coming to that understanding, it's clear to me that the concept of polarization confuses a lot of people. Many of them have chosen to view it in terms of good vs evil or as love vs fear, because those are views we are familiar and comfortable with. Personally, I think the labels “Lightworker” and “Darkworker” are horribly misleading. I’d rather call it “Self-Polarized” and “Others-Polarized.”
Personally, I am highly motivated to help others, but I am close to useless if I put others’ needs ahead of my own. I operate like this:
I strive to improve myself, and I take care of myself first. By putting myself first, I am best able to help others and improve the world, and simply by being who I am, I help others. Clearly self-polarized, but outside of a polarization discussion, I would call myself a lightworker.