#147 Purposeful Passion vs Compulsive Addiction

ByLukas
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Working on your business so hard you neglect your health – and end up in bed with a burnout.

Being so absorbed with selflessly helping others you forget to set boundaries – and end up drained and resentful.

Being so focused on the practice your neglect your friends and family – and you end up lonely.

The line between purposeful passion and compulsive addiction is thin.

This is where trust building comes in.

Building trust in your intentions – so you verify that your actions benefit you and your environment.

Building trust in your self-awareness – so you notice when you cross over in compulsive obsession space, and pull yourself back into purposeful passion territory.

Building trust in the people around you – so you listen to them when they see you’re slipping, and you let them help you get back on the right path.

Trust is a beacon of light, keeping you on track.

What will you do today to protect and fuel it?

Tiny Trust Builders.

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#29 The myth of self-sabotage

ByLukas

All behavior is inspired by avoiding pain or gaining pleasure – and since you usually act on what your brain perceives as the most intense of the two.

So if you think you desire something, but then “sabotage” yourself so you never get what you desire, that means you have mixed feelings about desire (and thus inner conflict): deep down, you feel that desire will give you more pain than pleasure.

In other words, it’s not self-sabotage: it’s your brain protecting you from pain it perceives as stronger than the pleasure you might get from reaching your goal.

Maybe you desire more money, but deep down, you feel money will corrupt you, or make you lose friends, make you feel guilty, or make you lose your drive.

Maybe you have a desire to write or create, but you feel the pain of judgment or rejection is stronger than the pleasure of creating.

Maybe you want to get in shape, but deep down, you feel you’ll give up anyway before reaching any meaningful results, so you’d rather save yourself the pain of future disappointment (a classic self-trust problem).

Maybe you notice a certain destructive pattern in your relationships, but you believe going to therapy and “opening up that can of worms” will be even worse than perpetuating the current situation.

If you keep sabotaging yourself, it might be worth to ask yourself the question: what pain am I avoiding? What am I afraid of? In my imagination, what’s going to happen when I reach my goal; both positive AND negative?

Or even better than just asking: journal about it.

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#26 Becoming less blind to what’s already here

ByLukas

I write about the same topics over and over again, with slightly different words.

I listen to people explaining the same topics over and over again, with a slightly different interpretation.

I practice the same breathing exercises every day, becoming aware of changes so subtle it’s hard to believe they make any difference.

While all that energy spent on what seems like “repeating” and “reviewing” might seem like a waste of time, the constant revisiting of things we already know is how I grow.

Because with every repetition I’m discovering a new part of the same insight.

A new nuance that in itself might seem insignificant, but added to my personal experience, insights, understanding, might make all the difference.

And with every new insight, I become a little less blind to what’s already here.

In the process, I have to accept that the perfect words might never come.

The perfect explanation might never come.

The perfect execution of a skill might never happen.

But if I stay the course, my understanding of what matters to me in life will always keep growing.

At some point, through all the practicing, learning, reading, writing, I might stumble upon a groundbreaking insight.

Or maybe it never happens.

It doesn’t matter. I feel fulfilled regardless… As long as I keep sculpting away, day by day.

#244 What am I meant to do today

ByLukas

“What am I meant to do?” I often wonder.

You may have the same question on your mind.

Or maybe you don’t think about it at all, my friend. And perhaps that’s the better choice.

The search for purpose may not be about finding that one grand mission.

Maybe it’s about creating tiny ripples of influence right where we are with what we have.

Maybe the right question is, “What am I meant to do today?”

That way, we make each day matter in ways big and small.

Because these are the days we live anyway.

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#69 Evening Questions

ByLukas

I like to journal in the morning.

But if I’d journal in the evening, this is what I’d ask myself:

“Were my actions today actions of the person I choose to be? Or were they actions of a person driven by old patterns, habits and limiting beliefs?”

“Did my actions bring me closer to where I choose to go? Or did they keep me stuck in a place I really don’t want to be anymore?”

“Did my actions make me feel good about myself? Or did they make me resent myself?”

What can I do differently tomorrow?

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