Ego Friendly

Rationalizing is one of those commonplace sins we all commit. Sometimes we know we’re doing it- other times, sadly, we don’t. Who hasn’t thought that the extra fifteen minutes of lunch everyday is something your boss expects or that throwing trash out your window gives the working prisoners something to do, thus making their punishment less futile and more fulfilling? Those examples may not match up with some of your own, but you get the general idea.

Rationalizing is one of the things that makes us something more than the other animals; a beaver feels no need to convince himself that his logging is actually helping Mother Earth and a cheetah need not repeat the slogan “Survival of the Fittest” as he sprints after a zebra.

In some cases rationalizing is what gets us through the day- it’s how we convince ourselves to do unpleasant tasks or figure out ways to reward ourselves for the humdrum aspect of our existences. But when rationalizing becomes a way of life, when everything we do needs some sort of mental gymnastics just for us to be OK with it, our humanity has become our enemy and rationalization, like all Obstacles, must be eradicated.

There are a lot of ways of gaining wisdom and a lot of examples of Wisdom seekers and havers throughout classical and mythological literature: From King Solomon to Gilgamesh, Sophia to Joanne, Athena to Confucius. Yet no figure in ancient lore has quite the claim to knowledge that Odin does. Not only is Odin, or Wotan, known as the wisest of the Aesir (Norse gods) but there are at least three separate famous stories about him striving and sacrificing for Wisdom.

The most famous, of course, is his trading  one of his eyes (hence the appelation, Odin One-eye) to Mimir (or, in some version, Odin just dropped it straight in to Mimir’s Well, the Well of Wisdom) for clarity and wisdom. Only slightly less well known is the story of the nine days Odin spent hanging from Yggdrasil, the World Tree, in exchanchage for the Runes of Wisdom, a magical language that allowed him to perform all sorts of sorcerous feats. If that wasn’t enough, Odin once spent a summer doing the work of nine slaves just to get to the Mead of Poetry, a mystical drink that gives inspiration (yet another form of wisdom). The exchange involved much trickery and theft, not to mention some shape changing, so odds are it was no easy task.

One would think that that after finishing all these adventures and feasting in his mead hall in Valhalla Odin, now ruler and “All-father” of all the gods, would be happy with his wisdom, satisfied with his knowledge. Not Odin- the stories tell us that this aqcuistitive god was the owner of two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who spent their day flying around the world, seeing and remembering everything that took place on it, only to return at night to whisper all they saw into the ears of the All-father.

OK, nice stories but what do we really learn from it? How do these hyperbolic tales of an ancient religion affect our lives? Well, simply put , in the easiest form:

1. Wisdom requires sacrifice. Whether it’s throwing your eye in a well or just paying for college, the acquisition of knowledge always has a price.

2. Wisdom requires effort. While most of us aren’t willing to hang from a tree or get stabbed in the side for some information, there is always some work, some suffering or effort, that must be expended if we hope to learn.

3. Wisdom comes in many forms. From Runic letters to magical mead, from auto repair to astrophysics, there are a variety of forms that knowledge takes and we must be not only open to, but interested, in all of them.

4. You’re never done learning. We don’t have super-birds who can tell us everything but we do have computers, friends and co-workers who can let us in on information we may not yet know.

So, while the worship of Odin may only be recognized in five countries, there is no reason we can’t all take to heart some lessons from the All-father.

Hard work is the key to so many things; keeping fit, staying focused, winning the game or just finishing that report. It really shouldn’t surprise us, then, that the key to Discovery is the same.

We’ve mentioned many times here that great discovery, whether it’s in personal growth, financial gain or the betterment of mankind, is not the result of luck or circumstance but the result of hard work and dedication. It may appear to many that we are beating a dead horse, or at least flogging an ill sheep, but our goal is to help you Discover the best way for you to find your path in life and that, same as any other task, requires hard work and dedication. We’re trying to do our part- are you doing yours?

When was the last time you stood up for yourself or something you believed in? The last time you took a stand or fought for a principle? The modern  world is filled with contradictions and confusions, things that make us wonder if what we’re doing is right or if what we’ve chosen is wrong. For many of us, Courage is something we dream of, something we yearn for- yet something we rarely actualize.

Yet true courage is not far off or hard to atain. Most of us can’t live by our ideals all the time but we can try to do what’s right once in a while- buy something from a local store rather than a big chain or refrain from joining the water cooler laughter over the latest gossip. It is the simple things, the little things, that we must first stand up for if we are going to eventually fight for the larger causes.

It is easy to dream. When we are little our minds are full of mad schemes and wonderful machinations, most of us probably spent at least half our childhoods plotting out some plot or working out the exact details of some major goal. Most of us probably spent hours upon hours daydreaming about our futures, our spouses and our homes.

Where did it all go? How many of us can look at ourselves in the mirror and say, “I have done it! I AM married to Ariel, the little Mermaid. I DO work for a flying-car company!”

OK, so maybe those sort of dreams are a bit far-fetched, but there are plenty of others that were a bit more grounded in reality. Where’s that house you were going to have right when you got married? Where is the job that you love and the work you can’t stop doing? Why aren’t you a doctor, a writer, a fireman?

Because it is easy to dream but it is hard to bring dreams to fruition. When we at eGo.com say Dream we don’t mean wish or fantasize- we mean put that dream into reality.

Anyone got the number for Disney…?

Originally Published 3/12/10

Deciding to move is a big deal; deciding to get a sprinkled donut instead of a glazed, not so much. So what is so special about making decisions? Some are big deals, yes but others are just junk. In fact, if you were to do the math you would find that something like 99% of the decisions you make are trivial or pertain to trivial matters. So, back to our question then: What’s the big deal, why all the talk and hullabaloo about making Decisions and weighing options?

Because how we make decisions that 99% of the time has a direct relation to how well we do that super important one. We must train ourselves to think, to measure and decide without fear, even when it’s just what color to get your new car in, so that when it’s time to make a big choice- like where apply for college, you know how to do it.

So, I have this sharp sort of burning pain in my neck, a real wallop every time I move my head a certain way or too fast. At first, I thought I had just wrenched it one day or that taking the awakened baby into my bed at 3 AM had an even worse outcome than I had foreseen. Yet time passed and the pain did not. OK, I’ve been a little stressed. OK, my paychecks are not so timely. OK, so Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up. But should it really take me the inability to move my neck more than 15 degrees leftward to realize that I may be a bit stressed out?

Our bodies are more than just machines. Our bodies are not just flesh. The body is one of the most complex organisms in existence and it is rife with subtle interconnections and dependencies. We hurt not only to remind us that something was ill advised (playing tackle football with your teenage son and his pals) but also to warn us about our lives and our habits.
Chest hurt when you wake up? Maybe it’s about time to call that hot-line and quit smoking?

In my case it was the horrific pain in my neck that made me realize that I tense my shoulders and bristle with contracting neck muscles whenever I am annoyed. Honestly, I was aware of this most unseemly habit but I never thought it was that big a deal. I try to let little truly annoy me and what does is usually brief. The fact is that my neck was trying to send me a message. It was trying to warn me: TOO MUCH STRESS!!! Once I became more conscious of my neck, I became more aware of how many small inconsequential things were really getting me crazy. I took a step back, assessed and am trying to stay calmer. Not just think I’m staying calm, but actually relaxing, unclenching and trying to enjoy life with all its absurdities.

Our bodies can be amazing early warning systems. Our Sense is always giving us seemingly minor clues about life and our reactions to it. We must listen! If we don’t, what should just be a minor stress issue can become… (Yes, I’m going to say it) a real pain in the neck.

What’s that? Up ahead, do you see it?

It’s right in the middle of the road!

What are we going to do? We can’t turn, the road is fenced in on both sides.

Don’t panic, let’s think it through. Can you see exactly what it is? Okay fine, you can’t. Maybe it’s small enough that we can drive over it.

No? Fine, let’s just slow down and try to get a better look at it.

The sun is behind it so I can’t see. Is that a tunnel or is it just a solid mass?

You can’t go that slow, there are people behind us! I guess they don’t see it. Maybe we’re imagining it?

No, I see it too.It’s getting closer.It’s huge! I’m a little scared.

The person behind us is speeding up! Do you think they really don’t see it? Maybe we are imagining it? It’s right there!

What are we going to do?