The Saboteur Test, Finding Meaning, Values
Hello friend,
I sometimes forget the magic of being out in nature.
For the past 2 days, I have been living in an ashram amidst mountains.
My day involves waking up early for morning prayer, having 3 simple vegetarian meals, soaking in the sunlight, taking walks and sitting beside a river, and working in the afternoon in the company of birds, trees, and a couple of dogs (surprisingly I don’t feel scared of them here!).
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The day ends with another round of evening prayer after which we either go to bed or visit the room of “the most chilled-out” monk I have ever seen who feeds us ice cream! 😀
Most importantly, I slept like a baby for the past 2 nights.
My sleep tracker shows a score of 98 which has never happened since I started using it 1 year ago. In fact, getting more than 8 hours of sleep for two consecutive nights is nothing short of a miracle for me.
I wish I could live like this every day! :/
But I leave tomorrow morning until I actually find a way to live like this on most days if not every day.
On that note, here are three things I want to share this week:
1. The Saboteur Assessment
I came across this in one of my favorite newsletters, Transparent Tuesdays by Charlie Bleecker.
The assessment is based on the book, Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine.
It aims to identify a person’s “Saboteurs“, which are self-sabotaging internal voices that can undermine one’s success and happiness. The assessment consists of a series of questions that help individuals identify which of the 10 common Saboteurs they tend to experience most frequently.
These Saboteurs include the Judge, the Controller, the Avoider, the Hyper-Achiever, and the Pleaser, among others. By identifying these Saboteurs, individuals can learn to recognize and manage them, which can lead to greater positivity, productivity, and resilience.
What I found interesting was the explanation of the Original Survival Function of each saboteur in the report.
It can give some amazing insights into why you tend to self-sabotage and give you a fresh perspective to deal with them.
2. A Letter on Living a Meaningful Life
In April 1958, the popular American journalist and author, Hunter S. Thompson wrote this letter to his friend Hume Logan in response to a request for life advice.
One of the questions he attempts to answer in this letter is whether to float with the tide or swim toward a goal.
“The answer— and, in a sense, the tragedy of life— is that we seek to understand the goal and not the man…..to put our faith in tangible goals would seem to be, at best, unwise. So we do not strive to be firemen, we do not strive to be bankers, nor policemen, nor doctors. WE STRIVE TO BE OURSELVES….we must make the goal conform to the individual, rather than make the individual conform to the goal”
Hunter S. Thompson
He emphasizes looking for a way of life rather than chasing goals alone.
And one way of looking for a way of life is getting clarity on your values.
which brings me to……
3. How to Live by Your Values?
This piece is one of the best articles I have come across on living by values.
To get clarity on values, ask yourself:
- What would you be doing if you were living meaningfully? (verb)
- How do you want to show up to whatever you’re doing? (adverb)
“Values are the ways of being and doing that, looking back from your deathbed, would make you think, “That was a damn good life.””
The author explains values as meaningful life directions whereas goals are just milestones on the path. In this way, goals do not become ends in themselves. Every step of your journey matters as you live your values every moment.
This is how you find meaning and enjoyment in the journey.
That’s all from me this week, folks!
Signing off with an awkward selfie I took today evening (because I was feeling kinda nice looking into the camera :D) after my introspective walk during the sunset! 😀
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Until next time
Love
Vishal
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