Have you noticed how many catch phrases are created around the act of misunderstanding? Failure to understand an essential element has resulted in some fairly common idioms. For example:
“Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” That’s a classic.
“They can’t see the forest for the trees.” I hear that phrase all of the time in workplace settings.
If you are in pursuit of the best life you can live, no doubt you also try to eliminate misunderstandings whenever possible. After all, misunderstanding can come at high costs. But how do we “miss the mark”? What essential element are we missing that might keep us from experiencing our greatest potential? Your best life starts when you eliminate misunderstandings of yourself and others.
Why should understanding be so expensive?
There’s a Proverb that offers this wisdom: “Though it costs all you have, get understanding.”
All you and I have? Why should understanding be that expensive?
Perhaps the total costs of gaining essential understanding about yourself and others pales in comparison to that of misunderstanding. Accumulated over the course of a lifetime, is it even possible to measure just how much you lose in lost opportunities, damaged relationships and unrealized dreams? To be the best person, parent, leader, or whatever you desire to be, you must take a journey deep inside. Clear understanding of your inner design propels you down a path toward your best life.
Understanding destroys life-zapping disconnects
Our actions sometimes don’t express our inner design (our InnerKinetics), and here’s where most of the traps are set that cause you to fail or get sidetracked. Your choices can create a disconnect between your inner drives and the way you behave. It’s these disconnects (these misunderstandings) that must be eliminated as often as we become aware of them.
We aren’t slaves to our inner drives. We can and do choose to operate contrary to them. But do you even understand WHEN that’s happening? If you did understand them better, would you still choose to go “off design” as often as you do? I’d like to think my answer to this question would be NO!
Let’s look at what might cause you to override your inner drives. These are the life-zapping disconnects we must understand better if we are to experience our greatest potential:
Circumstances:
The pressure of circumstances can force choices upon you that may upset your pursuit of your chosen path. Getting laid off, for example. A major illness or accident can deplete your savings and get you off plan. Regardless of the details, you can still make choices that lead you back to doing the thing that fulfills you. Understanding yourself is essential to the road back from the disconnects that circumstances can cause.
People:
Close friends often feel they know what is best for you, but they can be wrong. Sometimes they’ll advise you to take actions that would be best for them and their inner design, not yours. If you feel you don’t know what to do and then trust your friend’s judgments out of ignorance, you may override your true preferences in favor of a choice foreign to the “Real You.” Understanding yourself is essential to following YOUR path, rather than jumping onto the path of another.
Bad Choices:
You can also deliberately choose to do what we know is wrong. When a voice inside you shouts “Don’t!” but you choose in opposition to that voice, the misery of a bad consequence can soon visit. Understanding where, when and what your right choices are is essential to staying on course. And WHEN you get off your path, you must choose your way back.
Start here, and ask yourself:
- What essential elements about my inner design have I misunderstood?
- What am I willing to do to gain a better understanding?
- In what direction does my greatest potential lie?
Critical Thinking + Clear Understanding = Your Best Life
The critical questions above, plus a better understanding of yourself and others will cost you. It may cause you to see needed change in your life. (And we all know how painful change can be).
It may require you to repair some damage caused by misunderstanding important relationships. (Respectfully, put your big kid pants on and get it done!)
If this kind of understanding and change results in your experiencing your best life, isn’t it worth it?
Stay tuned as we continue to tackle the misunderstandings that can keep you from your best life and your greatest potential.
Here are some essentials that can help understanding: