Something I’ve been pondering this morning is this idea that we don’t perceive our own best interest.
Really?
I mean, surely we know what is good for ourselves right? If not us, then who has the answer?
One thought is that every decision we make is determined by our perception of a situation. Which often times can be the furthest thing from reality.
Obviously we seek to serve our own best interest, or at a minimum our survival but what if everything we think about this process is wrong?
There’s so many past actions that “seemed” like the right decision at the time that in looking back, I wish I had chosen something different.
And on the flip side of things, there are those seemingly “routine” decisions that I thought little of in the moment. That led to some of my most significant personal victories, and in many cases broadest impact.
So what governs these decisions, and whose best interest is this all really in?
I’d like to think there’s something greater than any one of us that is guiding us towards our collective evolution. And that the truth of the matter is that we can do no wrong.
“I Can Do No Wrong”
Read those words on the page, and then repeat them out loud if you would like to play my game.
What if this was true?
What would this mean for your life and how you decide to show up every day? So many times in my past I’ve been crippled by fear of “what if I get it wrong”, or “how is this going to be perceived”.
In fact, if I’m honest, I’m feeling it as I commit these words to the page and consider sharing these thoughts publicly.
But perhaps the better question is “What if I get it right”?
I’ve been on this powerful journey lately where a lot the structures that I’ve built are falling away in my life. And they aren’t being replaced quite as quickly. Leaving me to spend a lot of time in the gap or void, feeling a lack “of something”.
But what if this is the gift?
And what if it’s not? Does it really matter?
What I do know is that I’m letting my heart lead me and the sincere intention to show up from a place of inspiration and giving.
Is this in my own best interest?
Maybe. I’ve been pretty good at being self-serving in the past, so if the yard-stick is material wealth and “achieving more”. Then perhaps I’m sinking the ship.
But if the goal is something beyond myself, maybe I’m exactly where I need to be. Sitting with the discomfort of it all, with an open curiosity about what comes next.
And maybe, just maybe some of what I choose to do will be in the best interest of something that matters.
Because I think that’s what we all really want – to know that we matter as we spin around on this tiny speck in the universe.
And it’s impossible for us NOT to matter, because we are all part of the same matter. Ponder that for a second.
We place a lot of demands and pressure on ourself in our daily pursuit of something greater, and often times we contradict ourselves many times over. In fact, in writing this article, I may have already proven that point.
I don’t have the answer for you on this page.
But you do.
Here’s a sign post that I’m choosing to follow for myself:
– There is nothing to learn, nothing to know, nothing to practice, nothing to become.
What outcome are you focused on in your life right now? And when you are really honest with yourself? Are you able to perceive your own best interest if that were to become true for you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this applies to your experience
