Sample 7. Hippo: The Human Focused Digital Book. Non-Fiction. Social Psychology/Technology
A sample from ‘Hippo: The Human Focused Digital Book.’
Chapter 10. Taoism 2016
‘Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is how magic is done, by hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it’s a feather bed.’ Terence McKenna
Have you ever started a financial plan? If you’re anything like I was, we’ve all started financial plans, ‘started’ being the operative word. It goes like this: you’ve set out with the best intentions but failed to keep the momentum going. That’s basically it. You’ve stagnated, wallowed and then… started up again. Relying on motivation and willpower doesn’t work and I know that’s not something to preach – I’m coming up against a self help industry that banks billions, but I’m not selling an ideology, I’m facing the reality of the situation, and it wasn’t always a habit of mine. The denial mechanisms we place in can in fact be quite sophisticated, and the positions we learn to defend – well argued. It becomes convenient to explain to ourselves and others our current position, financially. Reality, though, is not so convenient. When you begin any new self-improvement program, your enthusiasm is high and you’re motivated by the pleasure of what you want or the pain of what you don’t want. But motivation naturally diminishes with time, like the creatine housed in your muscular biology to take you through the first thirty minutes of your gym workout, you eventually, inevitably run out of gas.
Something like financial planning needs to become a habit like brushing your teeth, and not a fad like dieting or Zumba. Once a habit is established, people find themselves doing it effortlessly. Remember, the four stages of learning:
-
Unconsciously-incapable
-
Consciously-incapable
-
Consciously-capable
-
Unconsciously-capable