A short Optimize +1 podcast by Brian Johnson that explores the idea that having low or no standards may be worse than failing to meet high standards. Brian recounts a walk during a deep-work break, reflects on Joseph Campbell's reframing of sin (identify with positives) and locates the precise phrasing in Nathaniel Branden's Six Pillars of Self-Esteem—specifically the sixth pillar, Integrity. He prompts listeners to clarify and live by their standards; the episode closes with a brief promo/PS.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another optimize plus one. After drafting that last plus one, I hit my 90 minute mark for my second deep work time block of the day, which of course triggered one of my keystone algorithms. After 90 minutes of deep work, I take a 15 to 20 minute break. So I grabbed a little bite to eat and went on a short walk around our property. As I was walking, I contemplated the whole idea of sin and missing the mark in our lives. Joseph Campbell, who was also raised Catholic, came to mind. I just love his wisdom on the subject and we featured it in a plus one called Father Bless Me. Check that out. As you may recall, Campbell tells us, I quote, Ramakrishna once said that if all you think of are your sins, then you are a sinner, he says. And when I read that, I thought of my boyhood going to confession on Saturdays, meditating on all the little sins that I had committed during the week. Now I think one should go and say, bless me Father, for I have been great. These are the good things I have done this week. Identify your notion of yourself with the positive rather than with the negative. That is awesome. Then my thoughts were interrupted as a deer bounded away from me. She, or was it he paused about 50ft away, stared at me as I stared back for an extended moment. Then she continued on her way. And that was also awesome. Then my mind floated to Nathaniel Brandon. I couldn't remember the precise details of his thoughts on the subject, but I remembered the essence of I remember he once said something about the fact that there's something worse than sinning or missing the target. You know what that might be? What's your guess? What's worse than missing the mark? Seriously, think about it. What's your guess? Well, now I remember that he said not having high standards in the first place was arguably considerably worse than having them, but failing to meet them. As I reflected on that, finishing my walk and I then came straight to my computer for a quick search to find the precise words he used and to create this one. Enter Max Search Nathaniel Brandon. Result. A couple notes. We have one called the Art of Living Consciously and another on a book called the Six Pillars of Self Esteem. Now I opened the PDF on the Art of Living Consciously first. That's an awesome book and note. But nope, the wisdom I was looking for wasn't there. So I opened the Six Pillars of Self Esteem. Aha. There it is. It's the sixth and final pillar of Self esteem Integrity. Here's how Nathaniel puts it. I quote, integrity is the integration of ideals, convictions, standards, beliefs and behavior when our behavior is congruent with our professed values. When ideals and practice match up, we have integrity. Observe that before the issue of integrity can even be raised, we need principles of behavior, moral convictions about what is and is not appropriate judgments about right and wrong action. If we do not yet hold standards, we are on too low a developmental rung even to be accused of hypocrisy. In such a case, our problems are too severe to be described merely as lack of of integrity. Yeah, that's exactly right. And that's today's plus one. Are you living in integrity with your ideals, convictions, standards and beliefs? And remember, that presupposes we have a clear sense of standards. So what are yours? Let's know them and let's live them as we solidify our intense trust in ourselves and by getting better and better at hitting the mark today, We hope.
You enjoyed this episode of Optymyze with Brian Johnson. To find out more, go to Optimize Me.
Hey guys, this is Brian with a quick little P.S.
I'M really excited to let you know.
About an event we're working on. Plan is to make it the premier self optimizing event of 2020. We're calling it Optimize 2020. You the modern hero. Basic idea. Five days, 101 world class luminaries. One million people. You can learn more and get your tickets to the online and offline event at Optimize Me 2020. Again, that's Optimize Me 2020. Hope to see you there.
