One simple rule to stay in alignment
A phrase I turn to to keep clear of "shoulding" all over myself
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This is the question I ask myself:
Am I doing this as “means to an end”?
Or am I doing it because I desire to do, in and of itself?
(No, this doesn’t apply to doing things like dishes, laundry, or taxes.)
When used around business, creativity, even health, it can be a powerful tool for keeping you in alignment, reminding you to listen to your soul, your body, rather what exterior voices tell you to be and do.
I’ve been especially turning to it when it comes to Substack.
(Brick pathway in the English countryside, Found on Pinterest)
Have you ever had the experience of reading a book or an article and a phrase just sticks with you? That was me and this phrase - “a means to an end” - when I was reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle for the first time a few years ago.
This is the one paragraph I found that digs into what it means, and when I first read it it stopped me in my tracks:
“To the ego, the present moment is, at best, only useful as a means to an end. It gets you to some future moment that is considered more important, even though the future never comes except as the present moment and is therefore never more than a thought in your head. In other words, you are never fully here because you are always busy trying to get elsewhere.” - Eckhart Tolle
This concept doesn’t just apply to the present moment, it applies to everything. Especially business, including growing on Substack.
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