By the Ocean
Clear 66 Degrees
5:21 a.m.
The problem isn’t that there are too many self-interested people in the world, the problem is that there aren’t enough.
Here’s the definition of selfish: concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself.
Sounds like a bad word doesn’t it? It sure seems to carry a connotation that doesn’t seem too good.
But if you go looking for a better word, a word that communicates the action of pursuing your own rational self-interest, there isn’t one.
Why wouldn’t there be a word to describe the natural state of a human? This is how everyone is, by nature. “Selfish” is actually how you’re made to be. Just look at kids playing on the playground. “Sharing” is a conditioned behavior. IT IS NOT NATURAL for a child. That’s why you have to tell your child to share. (When you force them to do it, you pass on the conditioning that they should be more concerned by what others expect rather than connected to their own truth about what is right for them.)
But since we have nothing else to call this “natural state,” I guess we’ll just adopt the word “selfish” for our own purposes. Except we’ll put quotes around it so you know we’re highlighting the attempts of the Matrix to control your life by controlling your language.
On any given day, which human do you think about MOST? It’s a rare soul who could honestly say it’s anyone but themselves. This is what you’re made to do: be interested in YOU. That is rational.
It is only by conditioning that we learn that being “selfish” is “bad.” And that’s where the problems start. As with so much in the Matrix, the conditioning programs you to act in ways that are not natural.
It is only when you truly obsess over your own self-interest that you realize getting what you want is nothing more than a byproduct of getting other people what they want.
And from that point forward, you align your interests with the interests of others. And your “selfishness” becomes the actual propelling force to add value to the world.
Imagine if everyone did this.
But that’s not all that being “selfish” has to give. Because once you maximize your self-centered view, you also discover there are tools available to further enhance your experience.
You realize that gratitude is a super power. Not only does it completely shift your experience of your current circumstances, it seems to be a powerful way to improve those circumstances over time.
Gratitude is a skill. If you don’t practice it, you won’t develop it.
The secret isn’t to practice it just ONE day, when you’re told to do it, the secret is to practice it every day. That’s when it becomes real magic.