Fer Levuls
How do I put this???
Let us say that you love playing guitar (I should be more creative)...ummm, ok, let’s say you like drinking RC Cola (I have an empty can next to my monitor).
Let us say that you just started this great RC Cola relationship last week.
Let us say that you have then proceeded to tell one of your friends about your newly found passion for the soft drink...by the way, why in the world is called "soft?"
Let us say then that at some not too distant future the same friend you have shared your passion with now decides to let you know of their newly found love for Big Red.
You immediately notice that your friend has just displayed a flare for liquids that they have never showed before and you think to yourself: They couldn't possibly be trying to out do me or show some sort of competitive likeness for sodas, are they??
You think about how you feel stupid for feeling paranoid about your dear old pal, and decide that you have just made a mistake in judgment...
but then again...
That particular friend has always seemed to duplicate your hobbies, loves, passions and sometimes exceeded your ability and knowledge in those areas (not that anybody is jealous...yea right).
You then have a choice of how to react to the situation.
These are the 4 levels of reaction.
Level 1: Competition
Level 2: Pride
Level 3: Pity
Level 4: Indifference
These are the 4 levels of reaction explained.
Level 1: The level of competition. This is where a person decides to engage in a mental war with another person over who's actually more passionate about any one subject. This level breeds hatred and a lack of self-esteem. The person see that can of RC Cola as a source of pride and individuality that they don't want taken away. They need it to feel like a real person. They can only be the real thing if they drink a Coke tho...Just kidding, Get it? Real thing? Coke? Ha? Whatever. Anyways, this is the most destructive level for a person to be in. Not only are they trying to prove something to themselves, but often further the lack of peace thru hatred of the person they are competing with.
Level 2: I never really knew of a level 2 for most of my life. I suppose I heard of it from time to time when Mom told my little brother to remember that kids that pick on him are actually jealous of him. But that really just brought about more laughter when he would recite it to me when I was giving him a hard time. I never really knew it until recently, when the paranoia (that friends were competing with me) almost drove me nuts. I realized that I could derive pride from the fact that they often pursued my small interests further than me. On paper it seemed easy. Just look at the fact that they think of you in such high regard that they think your interests are merit investigation. A second way of looking at it is that they simply think you are a worthy competitor. Of course, it wasn't easy to feel happy about how they were outshining me even if I was the one that had the ability to push them down that course. So...
Level 3: I needed to see beyond pride...besides, I knew pride is not exactly the best thing to hold on to. I mean, doesn't Yoda preach against it? Pride is a selfish existence. If for one moment you were to look at why they would want to compete against you at all, you would see something important.
I believe that any person that actually believes in themselves doesn't have the constant overwhelming need to say that they do. They already know they believe and they don't need anybody else to believe that they believe in themselves. I would guess that people who believe in themselves go thru life mostly unnoticed... ironically, they are the ones who make the biggest differences in our world as well.
So, when I thought about why someone would constantly be competing with me, I realized that they have no foundation. They lack any real individuality. From this thought springs pity. It is even possible to feel pity for the friend who copies your moves even if their intention is no where near competing. You see in them that they have are still looking for themselves and what makes them unique. I pity the fool!
Level 4: Pity brings me down. I don't want to feel sorry for the guy that is trying to steal my identity. The ultimate way to compete and believe in yourself is thru indifference. These people do not deserve our time or sympathy. We do not need to siphon pride from these people to know who we are. When we have reached indifference we have started focusing on our passions. When we have focused on our passions we start living. When you have made it to level 4 you will not know it.
People are only their passions.
Apply the 4 levels to anything. Like...your boss that can't get over calling you out on every occasion they get. I mean, what is the deal? Right? A good boss that believes in themselves does not push people down to lift themselves up.
Let us say that you love playing guitar (I should be more creative)...ummm, ok, let’s say you like drinking RC Cola (I have an empty can next to my monitor).
Let us say that you just started this great RC Cola relationship last week.
Let us say that you have then proceeded to tell one of your friends about your newly found passion for the soft drink...by the way, why in the world is called "soft?"
Let us say then that at some not too distant future the same friend you have shared your passion with now decides to let you know of their newly found love for Big Red.
You immediately notice that your friend has just displayed a flare for liquids that they have never showed before and you think to yourself: They couldn't possibly be trying to out do me or show some sort of competitive likeness for sodas, are they??
You think about how you feel stupid for feeling paranoid about your dear old pal, and decide that you have just made a mistake in judgment...
but then again...
That particular friend has always seemed to duplicate your hobbies, loves, passions and sometimes exceeded your ability and knowledge in those areas (not that anybody is jealous...yea right).
You then have a choice of how to react to the situation.
These are the 4 levels of reaction.
Level 1: Competition
Level 2: Pride
Level 3: Pity
Level 4: Indifference
These are the 4 levels of reaction explained.
Level 1: The level of competition. This is where a person decides to engage in a mental war with another person over who's actually more passionate about any one subject. This level breeds hatred and a lack of self-esteem. The person see that can of RC Cola as a source of pride and individuality that they don't want taken away. They need it to feel like a real person. They can only be the real thing if they drink a Coke tho...Just kidding, Get it? Real thing? Coke? Ha? Whatever. Anyways, this is the most destructive level for a person to be in. Not only are they trying to prove something to themselves, but often further the lack of peace thru hatred of the person they are competing with.
Level 2: I never really knew of a level 2 for most of my life. I suppose I heard of it from time to time when Mom told my little brother to remember that kids that pick on him are actually jealous of him. But that really just brought about more laughter when he would recite it to me when I was giving him a hard time. I never really knew it until recently, when the paranoia (that friends were competing with me) almost drove me nuts. I realized that I could derive pride from the fact that they often pursued my small interests further than me. On paper it seemed easy. Just look at the fact that they think of you in such high regard that they think your interests are merit investigation. A second way of looking at it is that they simply think you are a worthy competitor. Of course, it wasn't easy to feel happy about how they were outshining me even if I was the one that had the ability to push them down that course. So...
Level 3: I needed to see beyond pride...besides, I knew pride is not exactly the best thing to hold on to. I mean, doesn't Yoda preach against it? Pride is a selfish existence. If for one moment you were to look at why they would want to compete against you at all, you would see something important.
I believe that any person that actually believes in themselves doesn't have the constant overwhelming need to say that they do. They already know they believe and they don't need anybody else to believe that they believe in themselves. I would guess that people who believe in themselves go thru life mostly unnoticed... ironically, they are the ones who make the biggest differences in our world as well.
So, when I thought about why someone would constantly be competing with me, I realized that they have no foundation. They lack any real individuality. From this thought springs pity. It is even possible to feel pity for the friend who copies your moves even if their intention is no where near competing. You see in them that they have are still looking for themselves and what makes them unique. I pity the fool!
Level 4: Pity brings me down. I don't want to feel sorry for the guy that is trying to steal my identity. The ultimate way to compete and believe in yourself is thru indifference. These people do not deserve our time or sympathy. We do not need to siphon pride from these people to know who we are. When we have reached indifference we have started focusing on our passions. When we have focused on our passions we start living. When you have made it to level 4 you will not know it.
People are only their passions.
Apply the 4 levels to anything. Like...your boss that can't get over calling you out on every occasion they get. I mean, what is the deal? Right? A good boss that believes in themselves does not push people down to lift themselves up.
posted by Michael | 3:56 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you for reiterating this!! .. it is actually written down =)
Yeah!
Post a Comment
<< Home