Ahh fuck it… principles and beliefs ehh? I do not eat meat, I do not use air travel, I avoid driving, I have solar panels and a battery installed. I do use the internet a lot though including copious prompts to LLMs on most days. I also leave appliances on standby, buy stuff I do not need. And so on and so on.
I wonder what it would be like to act consistently with the principles and beliefs I subscribe to 100% of the time?
The mental construct of your ideal self and what you actually do. I understand the closer the two are aligned the less anxious and unsettled you feel. Maybe that’s why we abandon principles, beliefs and dreams we once had. They cost way too much. Expended effort, forgone pleasures, convenience, looking good, fitting in etc etc. Not living up to our own expectations never feels good. The easy solution is lowering expectations.
It’s a rare week where I have not justified slacking off from doing a thing I planned to. Quite often the impact is barely perceptible. It’s not until at some time in the future that the positive or negative impact of repeated decision making becomes starkly apparent. Relationships, health, financial security, fulfilment, skills, self esteem, mood… I’m not sure if anything is excluded from this chain of cause and effect.
I want to be this or that person but I really can’t be bothered today. Our time, attention, and effort are finite resources.
It seems sensible to have a pretty good idea about what’s important to us. Knowing our intrinsic values is a good starting point, "…the things you value for their own sake, regardless of whether they bring you anything else’. We are more likely to stay motivated and act on our intentions when they are grounded in our intrinsic values. Sticking with something in the long term is also a lot more likely the closer that something is to our intrinsic values.
So… what intrinsic values do I have?
That I have agency and can make choices for myself
That I continually learn new things
That we protect from harm those who can’t easily protect themselves
That I maintain my humility and don’t become too prideful or boastful
That I am always fair in my dealings with other people
That I achieve inner peace
That I stay healthy for a long time
So the question I now ask myself is, am I investing time and effort into doing stuff that align with these values? Is there things I do which are aligned but could be tweaked a bit to do so more closely?
Explore your intrinsic values with the The Intrinsic Values Test
It’s not the first time I have completed this exercise. A reminder to myself is often a good thing for me. Something I shall reflect on over the next week or so. Could even be my next post for the Blaugust 2025 Festival of Blogging. This is my first and happy to be part of it.