Are you addicted to improvement?
I'm an advocate for self-improvement, but the 'improvement' isn't really the problem, it’s what inspires that improvement we need to address. Our egos are what we need to address.
To wrap up our stint with Whiro, and our first atua (god, elemental force, celestial being) of the atua blog series*; we're gonna have a look at how Whiro feeds our addiction to improvement, through our ego.
We all want more, right?
We set goals, we make our plans and go about getting whatever it is we're after, we get it. Yay!! We feel good about ourselves for a while.. then what? We set more goals, achieve them (or not but keep trying or set new ones), celebrate our achievements, then..... oh hey another goal, *rinse and repeat*
Is that what life is? Always wanting the next thing, a quest for constant improvement, chasing 'more' and 'better'? Have we become so conditioned to chase this 'better life' that we're blinded to the fact we may already be living it?
What if our commitment to constant improvement prevents us from appreciating what we have, who we are and where we are right now?
Matua Pat Riley (former hall of fame NBA coach) talks about the 'disease of more' how NBA teams don't often win back to back titles because the original goal was the championship, yet when they win it, it's like yuss *tick off the list* what's next???
Well, the players start focusing on sponsorship deals, clothing lines, business ventures etc. and lose focus on what got them the championship and the status in the first place and the team ultimately suffers. Whiro's presence feeds the ego to build on the championship they won yesterday, with endorsements today and brand new everything tomorrow. They're just moving up another level, getting more but at what cost?
What have you compromised because you wanted more? And once you got your more, did it satisfy you? Probs not...
If we're committed to improvement, for no other reason than to improve, it's easy to become absorbed in our pursuit of 'more', and our present moment becomes something of a means to the next moment and the one after that.....
That's not living.
But if we changed our perspective to see how our passion for self-improvement improves the collective, that's how we win. It's working to become our best selves - together. Better individuals make for a better collective, and a team of champions will never beat a champion team (another NBA reference).
When you focus on how you can be a better person (improve) for your relationships, your community, your sports team or the whole world, it's not about your ego anymore and Whiro's presence has no effect because you're operating on a whole different level.
Hei konā e Whiro, laters Whiro - it's been fun.
Hana.
*Fitting, as darkness precedes light.