In life the challenge is not so much to figure out how best to play the game; the challenge is to figure out what game you’re playing.” – Kwame Anthony Appiah
Want to workshop an idea with me?
A framework appeared in my mind a few minutes ago that I’m still sorting out — so I thought we could sort it out together.
It’s a way of looking at what we might call:
“The Inner Journey”
Or, the process of development we go through after transcending the survival game (chasing money, pleasure, status, etc).
Here’s how it came to me:
First, I asked…
“What tangible results are we aiming for in this work?”
But there are hundreds of possible answers — from emotional processing and trauma release to discovering purpose to improving mental performance to enlightenment itself.
So I separated those hundreds of possible answers into general categories, which emerged as:
1. Healing
(resolving mental, emotional and spiritual holding patterns)
2. Performance
(strengthening and clarifying the mind, emotions, and spirit)
3. Purpose
(applying our upgraded performance to a specific task)
4. Awakening
(discovering who and what are where we really are)
Let me know if this is making sense, because I’m about to geek out.
On one hand, these four stages happen sequentially (one after another):
Healing allows us to safely get stronger (performance).
Stronger performance allows us to carry out our purpose.
Carrying out our purpose reveals the larger scope of our potential, which can give way to awakening (our connection to the will of nature/God/Tao/universe/life).
So that’s the stage model — one step at a time.
But, more interesting, these stages also happen simultaneously:
Healing amplifies performance, while also clarifying our purpose, and opening space for awakening.
Performance strengthens our capacity to heal, carry out our purpose, and pierce through to awakening.
Aligning with our purpose is profoundly healing, radically upgrades our performance, and can open glimpses into the awakened state.
And awakening — well, you get the idea; rocket fuel for healing, performance, purpose, and so on.
Point being:
Everything improves everything else — while also happening one step at a time.
There’s a lot more to say, and I’m not sure where this is all leading, yet.
Maybe it’s just a fresh way of looking at the journey we’re on.
Or maybe it’s the initial seed of an idea that will sprout into a complete model for actualizing human potential.
I’m open to either possibility.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Did this model clarify anything for you?
What stage are you currently focused on?
Did any new questions emerge?
Or, did this mental workshopping session sound like the private ravings of a hopeless philosopher?
Hit reply to share as much or as little as you’d like.
(I can’t always respond personally, but I read every email — and you will always get a response from Simon or I)
Chat soon 🙂
– T
P.S. This model might be a new way of looking at the four stages of purpose from our 9th Law talk.
Time will tell…