What do you want?
That’s the big-money question, and it’s not so easy to answer when it comes to this work.
In the outer world, what we want is right in front of our eyes:
Maybe it’s a profitable business or a beautiful partner or six pack abs or the new Zelda game on Nintendo Switch (I’ve been controlling my impulses well on that one).
But when it comes to the inner world, our goals aren’t so clearly defined.
For many, those goals sound something like:
“Becoming the best version of myself”
“Being more peaceful”
“Self-love and happiness”
But in the game of true self-mastery, sweet generalities just aren’t gonna cut it.
Rome wasn’t built on statements like — “I wanna build a nice city” — after all; it was built on surgical-grade engineering and hard-nosed labour.
And building your inner world is no different.
So I started brainstorming:
What specific internal goals are most worth pursuing?
Below is a working list of what I’ve come up with, so far.
(let me know if you think of any that I’ve missed — we’ll likely turn this into a resource of sorts)
…
Discovering your unique life purpose, and creating your life’s work
Expanding your capacity to love without fear in deep romantic relationships
Learning to bring your mind to complete stillness on command
Learning to hold your mind in clear, unbroken focus without effort
Dissolving the unconscious tension of your body (and the deeper layers of tissue inside your body) so that your body feels relaxed and open and comfortable at all times
Learning to feel the inside of your body — including muscles, fascia, bones, organs, nerves, etc — with vivid clarity (known as “interoception”)
Mastering your ability to connect and listen to your intuitive intelligence
Clearing emotional debt so you no longer hold onto any old, unprocessed feelings
Learning to feel the complete spectrum of emotions smoothly, without reacting or shutting down
Developing total non-reactivity to the actions of others and the events of life, so that nothing can throw you off-course
Bringing the impulsive mind under complete control so that your urges never trigger poor actions
Becoming mentally and emotionally self-sufficient, so that you no longer need any form of validation from anyone
Deconstructing your self-image and re-designing it according to the person you want to be — and then becoming that person
Developing the ability to think from multiple perspectives, so that your mind sees reality from a wide variety of angles
Learning to flow with the events of life so that nothing (key word nothing) ever feels like a “negative” experience — and every experience feels profoundly and perfectly “right” no matter how challenging or uncomfortable
Learning to see what is beyond your ego, directly (rather than theoretically)
Discovering the ultimate Truth of life (hint: it is the same, unchanging Truth for everyone)
…
I’ll leave it there, for today.
But before I go, I should point out that every single one of these goals is realistic and attainable for anyone with a genuine desire.
And while “outer” goals tend to bring momentary, surface-level satisfaction — often leaving us wondering why we cared so much about achieving them in the first place…
…I can tell you with confidence:
These inner goals create a lasting, permanent transformation that extends into every domain of your life.
In other words, they are well worth the effort.
- T
P.S. The next question, of course, is “how do we go about achieving them”?
Don’t worry, we’re getting there 🙂
But in the meantime, this is a very good place to start.