Money and Power and Swimming with Sharks
Written by Lee Schneider, founder of DocuCinema
This month I’m conducting an experiment in not striving. I’m nine days in. It’s going pretty badly. Pushing, grasping, wanting and hoping are kind of like getting up in the morning: I strive, therefore I am. Some sharks are like that – they can’t stop swimming because then they stop breathing. Let me try taking a breath while staying motionless in the water. How’s that feel? Terrible, can I start striving now?
Being meditative and reflective, accepting where you are and preparing to receive abundance are all really easy things to do. You can start by sitting cross-legged on a soft surface and staring into the sun until your eyeballs explode. No, that’s not what’s supposed to happen. But that’s what it feels like for me. I’ve never been good at meditative postures. I like running – did a 10K last weekend. After a couple miles I reach a humming-along-with-the-universe state that feels about right. Afterward I find my decision making clearer, I treat other people better and go easier on myself. I get just as much stuff done but with less effort. Is that what not striving is like? That might be worth striving for.
One path to not striving might be found in one’s relationship to power. As our friend Lotta said in her recent newsletter, “Power comes to us when we stop reaching for it. It’s actually always with us, but it’s our striving that gets in the way.” Striving doesn’t give us power. It can, in fact, take it away. The Soul of Money, by Lynne Twist, works this idea through, bringing in some thoughts on money.
“Each of us experiences a lifelong tug-of-war between our money interests and the calling of our soul. When we’re in the domain of soul, we act with integrity. We are thoughtful and generous, allowing, courageous, and committed. We recognize the value of love and friendship. We admire a small thing well done.”
Things change, she writes, when we enter the domain of money, and then, “It is as if we are suddenly transported to a different playing field where all the rules have changed. In the grip of money, those wonderful qualities of soul seem to be less available. We become smaller. We scramble or race to ‘get what’s ours.’ We often grow selfish, greedy, petty, fearful, or controlling, or sometimes confused, conflicted or guilty.”
Ok, let’s get real. The world is pretty greedy, petty, fearful and confused already, right? Does this mean I have to quit show business and work in a granola factory?
There will always be friends (I’m talking to you, East Coast) who will say “Who cares whether you cash your paycheck with integrity? Take the money and run.” Well, I’m thinking there’s more. I’m thinking Lance Armstrong, who came out of retirement to ride the Tour de France after winning seven times. He has a slim chance of winning eight times but he showed up anyway. “I feel good, I feel strong,” he said, as quoted by the AP. Showing up, feeling good, feeling strong, accepting where he is. There’s something to that.
What if you can do a job that fires you up, and therefore you can do it better, get paid more for it and stop and breathe at the same time? I can give that a go without striving for another 22 days at least.
I can’t wait to hear your results!
Hi Lee,
I like the Taoist tone of this article–not striving, yielding to force and allowing it to beat itself. That’s where I am at this point in my life.
That being said, years ago I worked in the corporate world as a writer. I don’t think these principles would’ve worked too well. Constant pressure, long hours, impossible demands–all justified by a much larger paycheck than I ever had when I worked in publishing. You don’t strive–you get fired. You yield–people think you’re a pushover and start walking all over you.
And the networking, jockeying for a better position–anytime anyone asked you to lunch it was for information purposes–is there an opening in your unit that might benefit me? After a while, I started doing the same thing. Contaminated by my environment. Always looking for more.
It was insanity. I could never go back, no matter how much they paid me.
Bob
well said.
For me, with budget cuts, the tasks at my (day) job have come to a screeching halt. My job is apparently salvaged, but the down time has given me clarity that the paycheck is not worth it. Whether it’s the size of a paycheck or just the regularity, I have to continute reminding myself it is just a distraction from what is ultimately valuable.
Contamination by the environment is a very real thing. It’s hard to do this unless you are among like minded people.
Thanks for commenting, Ingrid. I’ll keep you posted!
More and more, for me, it’s about merging the paycheck and the value. It’s a process! But when it happens, it’s really worth it. Thanks for commenting.
This is a good topic. I have done nothing but strive my whole life – gotta reach this goal or that goal, or just pay the bills. It’s most definitely gotten in the way of my creative voice and burned a bridge or two with my impatience.
Yet, for people like me, there’s something instinctual about striving. It’s so ingrained that you can’t stop, even if it’s only benefiting someone else and not yourself.
I’ve tried not striving – “giving” control to some higher power, using the power of positive thinking and karma and letting the world come to me. I have an admirable friend who has successfully lived his “simple is better” life this way. But to me, it’s like being buried alive while the rest of the world dances on my grave. I mean, just how long do you have to not strive to get the results you strive for?
When I’m not striving, I’m giving up. When I’m not striving, I’m failing. When I’m not striving, I’m dead. I think the key, though, lies in the focus of your strive. If what you are striving for does not make you happy, it’s time to strive for change.
Thanks for commenting! It’s all about balance, I think, and doing the type of striving that results in happiness. I wrote the blog because I realized I was doing a lot of striving that wasn’t resulting in happy outcomes – it was just serving to get me nuts. But in finding the the balance I realize that for me the “right kind” of positive effort is ok. Getting away from calling it “striving” has helped me personally, anyway.