In the last several days some of our members have raised questions about the idea of forcing ourselves. The fact is that we must force ourselves to grow inwardly. The belief that we grow easily and without great effort is an illusion that indicates one’s ignorance about human nature. But it is possible to force ourselves in the wrong way.
Our motive determines the adequacy of our self-forcing. If we force ourselves to obtain the approval of others, to be liked by others, or to conform to our peer group, the motive is wrong. If we force ourselves purely for our own sake, because our intelligence indicates to us areas of confusion or higher possibilities, then the motive is adequate and we are guided by our reason or intuition into the proper channels.
What do we force? Our minds! We must force our minds into more activity so that we are motivated by new insights rather than by old memory patterns. It is well said that we are creatures of habit, and habits makes us into machines. When we activate our intelligence, we cut through the bonds of our memory patterns and free ourselves from old habits. We concentrate on situations and problems in order to come to ideas. Our standards arise from our clear thinking: almost all of our present standards are borrowed from others. The new standards are thoroughly in harmony with our essential nature.
Spinoza found himself in a life and death struggle when he decided to live a conscious life, for he had to change old values and ideas. The inertias of our mind are enormous, and the conditioning which has led us to depend on approval from other people is deeply rooted. Real growth is possible only when we force ourselves to break though our conditioned thinking and really learn how to be guided by our understanding. The following A.B.C. would apply:
a. I help myself
b. I force myself
c. I lift myself up
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