The Year of the Rooster has started and my journey with it. We had our I Ho Chuan meeting today and Sifu Brinker talked about the promise we made to him regarding our requirements. It made me think how come it is always easier to make a promise to someone else then to yourself? Is it because you are now accountable to this person?
There seems to be two groups of people, the ones who do things for others and the ones that only do things for themselves. For the first group, if you only focus on doing things for others you may be doing them for the wrong reason or you may be doing it benefit you and not even realize it. The second group, which seems to be growing everyday, you can have such tunnel vision on how something benefits you that you miss things right in front of you.
Which group are you in? At first I would like to say I am in the first but when I really look at it, I move from one to the other depending on the situation.
Does keeping a promise to yourself put you into the group of thinking only of yourself? Some would say it does but I believe there is a third group. This group of people are ones that know that keeping a promise to themselves also ends up benefiting others. Knowing that you are true to yourself allows you to make choices with no doubt. They keep their promises to others because they know how to keep them to themselves. I know this group exists because I've seen them, especially in I Ho Chuan. This is the group I want to belong in!
I believe a promise should be unbreakable, but yet I have broken many a promise to both myself and others. This has bothered me so much that I began to NOT commit to a promise instead of making a false one. That left me in a place where I am constantly wondering and doubting many decisions that I make and now I want to change this. Many of my goals this year are on self discovery and change and I hope that others will see a change but either way I am doing this journey for me!
Sounds like a year full of awesomeness for you! Looking forward to witnessing your journey this year...
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts is that you would want to be somewhere in the middle re doing things for others and self. I have found that you really do get back what you put in.
I think there are more than one group. I look at it as a square where:
ReplyDeleteOne corner is for people who do everything for themselves and nothing for others.
The second is for people who do everything for themselves and for others.
The third for people who do everything for others and nothing for themselves.
And the forth corner is for people who do nothing for themselves nor to others.
The ideal place, yet probably impossible to be there all the time, is to be in the second corner.
Too many scenarios to play with here. But I'll bite,
ReplyDeleteI believe we would all agree that there should to be good being done for others as well as for oneself.
I enjoy doing good for others which mentally does good for me. The down side to my approach is that I don't do much for myself. In the long term my habitual approach has had a negative outcome for me. It is crucial to also serve yourself or else things like burn out can set in...really, in the end how can a person be at full potential when they themselves are deprived. "It starts within."
I hope that came out correctly.
We do not live in a vacuum. All action, no matter who that action is for, creates ripples. Recognizing the impact our actions have on those around us gives clarity and purpose to self mastery. Keep your mind and eyes open.
ReplyDeletePositive actions that are for yourselves will affect others positively as well. This is how you do things for yourselves and others at the same time.
ReplyDelete