“Although we’re aware of some of the surface motives for our actions, the deep-seated evolutionary motives often remain inaccessible, buried behind the scenes in the subconscious workings of our brain’s ancient mechanisms.” Knowing about your own blind spots will make you more selective when pointing fingers at others for their mistakes. With modern society being at an all-time high of finger pointing, it is likely we are also at one of the lowest points for self-awareness. Deep down our mind knows when we are doing wrong, but our ego suppresses facing the truth and can convince you of anything. Face the symptoms, cure the disease. Don’t run from responsibility, stand for what you know is right. Lacking the skill of self-examination results in wasting time and energy on the same behavior patterns that got you to your current situation. The most valuable attribute for your life is a clear mind.
"Our brains work hard to bend reality to meet our prior experiences, our emotions, and our discomfort with uncertainty.” The one thing that keeps our ego around is comfort. The ego tells us what we want to hear when we want to hear it leading to long term consequences. The ego says the rules don’t apply to me and we lose our ability to see the objective truth. Take a stand for truth now or you’ll be running into reality wondering why it hurts. The world is indifferent to what us humans want, so get out of your own head and start participating in the world around you.
If we can hide unwanted realities from ourselves, it also becomes a lot easier to hide these things from others. One of the most effective ways to rationalize any behavior is telling half-truths. We cherry pick our most acceptable, pro social reasons while concealing the uglier ones. There’s a second side to every story, if only we can quiet our egos enough to hear it. Find the courage to live with the real and tangible even if it is at times uncomfortable. Why am I afraid of this stuff? It’s not the thing itself we fear, it’s our reaction to it. Push through failure with strength, not ego. Put in the work for self-improvement instead of searching for validation that the ego craves. Don’t rely on validation from the outside world, only you should decide if something is worth it. “I don’t like work, no man does. But I like what is in the work, a chance to find yourself.”
