Motivated By Sense Of Lack?
Do we need to do something for gaining an external psychological reward or validation from outside or should we just do what needs to be done?
If you got a family, bills to pay then sure you might have to work for earnings to meet your basic needs and to take care of your family, however possible. You are not doing it for any validations or other rewards for fulfilling your mind. You are not doing it so that society won’t consider you bad. But you are simply doing what needs to be done as best as possible.
Seeking external rewards or validation comes when you want to do something not because you enjoy doing it intrinsically or not even because it is what needs to be done in your situation, but you do it for the sake of covering up the feeling of lack or unworthiness in your mind. Same with addictions, you do not do smoking or drinking because you intrinsically value them but as a form of escape. Just because something gives pleasure does not mean that it is what you inherently enjoy.
Another example would be someone who got lots of money but feels lack within and wants to feel validated and then they might start a business with some staff so they can feel as if they are doing something great and also feel good about themselves. This is one kind of a bullshit pursuit where the motivation is purely driven by mental feelings of unworthiness and lack. And not because of any other natural requirements.
Can we deal with the mental bullshits in mind however it is and extract it out from what we do in daily life?
In that case, we would have to question the pursuit of being successful. Are we running after some mental fantasy state of being successful because we are simply naturally designed so or out of some fear or to hide the unworthiness?
Some people are designed to be competitive, some are designed to be monks, some are designed to be poets or whatever. The problem arise when we pursue these things not because we are designed to but out of some fear. Same with people neglecting life challenges and becoming monks, not because they are naturally driven towards it but out of fear.
This is not about not doing anything but about the possibility of dropping the validation seeking mind and to simply do what needs to be done or at least what you are naturally designed to do. Maybe some activity or pursuit that we think is appealing externally might be plain bullshit compared to cleaning my clothes which is a natural requirement and what needs to be done.
You will receive everything you need when you stop asking for what you do not need. —Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Thanks for reading despite finding it good or bad. :)