Where Does Your Empowerment Come From?

By Scott Shaw

Each person wants to exist in a world where they are liked, loved, well thought of, and even respected. They want to be cared about and they want to have their life mean something. To achieve this, people go to all kinds of lengths. The problem is, these lengths are commonly defined by less than ideal actions. From this, though a person may, at least temporarily gain some of the something they desire, it eventually falls away because it was not a life constructed upon consciousness, thinking of others first, and caring about humanity more than one cares about themselves.

Take a moment and think about the various things you have wanted for your life. Look at what you want now. What are you doing to receive it? But, more importantly, think back to what you wanted one year ago, five years ago, ten years ago. Did you receive those life-things? If so, what was the price of you getting them? How did you getting them affect others? And, once you got them did they truly make you a better, more whole and happy individual?

This is the thing about time; it allows us to gain perspective.

In life, there is one common problem. That problem is, most people think about themselves first. They only care about other people in so much as they affect them. Obviously, this is a very selfish mindset. But, this is how much of the world operates.

Think about this, how many times has someone only been thinking about themselves and your life or your life evolution was negatively affected by their behavior? Now think about this, how many times have you hurt someone else’s life by you only thinking about yourself and you did not even care?

Right now, take a moment. Think back one day, one month, one year, or five years—think about another person that you interacted with. Focus on them instead of yourself. Think about how your own self-involved, selfishness affected them. You probably didn’t care then. Do you care now?

If you live your entire life based in a space of self-absorption you exist in a very selfish realm of consciousness. The fact is, many people don’t care. They justify their actions. “I am doing this to get that.” “People have hurt me so I have the right to hurt them.” But, more than these mentally verbalized excuses; most people are so lost into the realms of the selfish-self that they do not even take the time to take others into consideration. They do what they do. They do what they do and at best they make up justifications and/or excuses for their actions. But, the fact is, the moment another person has entered your life, either by choice or by fate, you are forever intertwined with them. Anything you do that affects them, affects you. And, though you may gain what you want for your life in any given moment by exhibiting bad or selfish behavior, it is that behavior, in and of itself, that will eventually cause you to lose they thing you gained and/or not achieve your ultimate dreams.

Think about life. Think about the people in your life. Think about the people that you actually know; not someone that you have heard about. Think about these people because by looking at them you know what you know; it is not some abstract rumor, thought, or impression. Think about these people. How many of them are truly happy, truly fulfilled, have truly obtained what they have wanted from and for their life? For most of us, when we actually take the time to take a conscious look we will see that most people are unfilled and have not achieved their whole and compete dreams. This is simply a fact of life.

Again, look at these people. What have they done to get where they wanted to be? In their process whose life did they damage in a small or a large way?

From any damage comes further damage. The damaged go on to damaging others. Why? Because they have been hurt. From this hurt they feel they have the right and/or the need to hurt others. “It’s been done to me.” But, this is biggest excuse that many people employee and the entirely wrong space to live your life from. This is a space of expounding the negative in life; not the positive. If you consciously set about on a path to hurt, by saying bad things or by doing bad things to any other person, your life will forever be defined by those actions. This is why most people never live their life dream. They are held back by their thoughts, words, deeds, and actions.

Many people, however, do not knowingly set out to damage the life of other people. But, they do not take conscious action. They simply do what they do without conscious thought. Is this style of behavior then forgivable because it was not consciously set in motion? No, it is not. For if you go through life lost in your self, locked in your own mind, then by that very thought process you have committed the ultimate sin—you only thought about yourself instead of the great whole.

People lie. People cheat. People steal. People deceive. People hurt other people; whether consciously or not. People lie to themselves about what they have done. People justify what they have done. People do all of these things to get what they want. But, if getting what you want involves the damage of anyone or anything you will never truly get what you want. If you do, it will only be very short-lived. And then, you will have had it but will suffer from the losing of it.

If you are not thinking about others first, if you are not putting other people first, you are living your life from a very selfish mind-space. From this, all that is born is disaster. Be more. Care about the other person first. From this, a whole new world of internal achievement is given birth to.

Try it out. See how it feels.