The Lies We're Sold
By Les Mottosky
Humans are built to handle difficult. What slows us down – or hangs us up – is complication.
This is why exceptional leaders obsessively pursue team clarity. They understand clarity isn't a result, but a process. And when clarity reigns, execution is the natural by-product. Clarity simplifies strategy – and by extension – the objective.
That's why this old saying is so sticky:
'Don't ask for an easier life, but a simpler one'.
When we ask for something, what we want isn't necessarily delivered – unless it's aligned with what we need. That seems to always shows up. So 'asking' doesn't always mean 'getting', but design can increase the chances. And if our designs pattern the principles and patterns of nature, we're on our way to 'getting'.
That's because Nature is God and God is Nature. Regardless of denomination, race, creed, colour, culture or even level of belief, we can all agree there's an animating thread that runs through all life. The most elementary description of the path of that thread is: birth, life and death.
Living things come into the world, experience their genetically determined span – unless interrupted – then expire.
Humans are a unique life form. We're the only one that conceives, designs, produces and consumes products to sustain our journeys. But those products aren't always nutrient rich or even remotely nourishing.
So what fuels our trip? And how can we upgrade it?
A response to that is to nourish what nourishes.
If you want a robust harvest from your tomato plant, it's not enough to stick it in dirt and water it occasionally. What's the quality of that soil? Of the water? Of the air? What are the optimum levels of sunlight? How do you protect it from natural infestation and predation?
These are the types of questions that can help reveal the nourishment of what nourishes. Nature does it auto-magically. Aside from invasive species, plant life not intended for a certain climate or habitat won't grow there. Or it might, but not for long.
We can reveal it for ourselves too. The "Nutrition Facts" on food packaging are only part of the story. Sometimes, they contain outright marketing. (If you haven't done so yet, the term "Natural Flavours" might be worth further research. Spoiler alert: it's a big stretch to call them natural.)
Most Westerners live in ubiquitous toxicity. Even some of the things we're told that nourish us are compromised.
It's becoming increasingly important to make choices that mitigate the impacts of those toxins. Some are foods, some are behaviours, some are technological and some are psychological.
A solution to avoiding the ever-present toxins is to focus on nourishing what nourishes us. Below are some questions to begin updating the trajectory of our journey:
- What parts of modern life quietly sever us from the things that actually restore us?
- What if exhaustion isn’t a time-management problem, but a nourishment problem?
- What nourishes the part of us that nourishes others?
- Are we hydrating with quality water (not tap) or merely consuming fluids only to remain energetically depleted?
- What if many modern symptoms are less about deficiency of effort and more about deficiency of minerals?
- Are our skin care products – at least close to – edible? We shouldn't put it on us, if we can't put it in us. ('Cuz that's where it ends up).
- Does the story we repeatedly tell ourselves nourish our energy or drain it?
There's no perfect path. But by asking bigger and better questions – with a focus on what actually heals and energizes us – we create a more effective path.
This isn't easy. It's also not always simple. But when we focus on the right levers, patterns emerge, it gets simpler and, eventually, becomes second nature.
It's curious that humans – the sickest species on the planet – are the only animal that continues to put nature second.
But it returns to it's appropriate hierarchy when we focus on nourishing what nourishes us.
TAGS: #The Lies We're Sold
Les Mottosky
Adaptation Strategist // I help organizations turn creativity into their competitive advantage by aligning leadership, culture and strategy to unlock adaptive innovations.
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