Inner game/growth vs changing externals/environment/infrastructure of your life

[Spence94]

Leo always talks about inner game, happiness on the inside and releasing needs etc. but where is the balance between that and your external life/environment?

Sometimes my mind tries to force me into adapting to externals by saying i need to cultivate the inner paradise, but sometimes the force of externals is strong and triggering i cant get to that point.

 

So how do you guys balance this issue of inner game/ internal growth vs external growth/ life/environment and infrastructure?

When is it good to focus on shifting the inner game and when should you consider external changes? is there an overlap at times? how does that look for you?

Hope this made sense and be great to hear some thoughts

Edited January 3, 2019 by Spence94

[NoSelfSelf]

It goes from" inside" to the" outside "your outside shows you your inside

[zambize]

Could you be really specific with some of the things you might consider external growth/changes?  Maybe even specific to you would be better 

[Cepzeu]

Watch Leo's videos which are along the lines of "3 levels of personal development" and "setting up your infrastructure for personal development"

Essentially all your personal development will focus on your inner game. By fixing the inner game, the outer game "fixes".

HOWEVER, until you become advanced at inner game, you cannot appreciate how fixing inner game will fix your outer game. Hence you feel this way: 

On 03/01/2019 at 6:39 PM, Spence94 said:

Sometimes my mind tries to force me into adapting to externals by saying i need to cultivate the inner paradise, but sometimes the force of externals is strong and triggering i cant get to that point.

Here is an example: An enlightened master (we can say mastered inner game) can go and live in a cave and be in bliss and ecstasy (outer game is fixed). A person with an underdeveloped inner game will go around trying to fix outer game facets but will deep down be unhappy and unfulfilled. I.e. a person with underdeveloped inner game will go crazy living in a cave.

 

How do you get around this?

Your focus on outer game should be to the extent that it enables you to focus on inner game.

-Remove addictions (outer) so you aren't always distracted and can focus on inner work.

-Sort out your relationships (i.e. intimate partner) so you aren't needy so that you can focus on inner game without distractions.

-Sort yourself out financially so that you have an hour or two to do inner work and aren't worried about how you will pay the bills.

-Develop an infrastructure that minimises distractions from inner work (this usually involves minimalism/spartan lifestyle).

-etc. etc. etc.

 

Once you do enough inner work you will realize that inner and outer doesn't really matter. It's all one, and they feed into each other. You could say everything become inner work because the outer work is also inner work.

You can use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a guide. 

The trap is getting stuck in outer game and neglecting the inner game. Focusing on the inner game and neglecting outer game can fix the outer game, BUT, paradoxically, you may need to fix the outer game to realise this.

 

[zambize]

3 minutes ago, Cepzeu said:

 

The trap is getting stuck in outer game and neglecting the inner game. Focusing on the inner game and neglecting outer game can fix the outer game, BUT, paradoxically, you may need to fix the outer game to realise this.

 

Such a good point 

[Sahil Pandit]

@Spence94 This is such a good topic that needs more dialogue around! 

I think the ultimate goal is to work on your inner game so much that the boundary between inner and outer starts to dissolve and you can be an outflow of your all the inner work you've done...

This means embodying wisdom, understanding, clarity, perspective, nuance, etc.

What do ya'll think? 

@zambize @Cepzeu @NoSelfSelf

[zambize]

21 minutes ago, Sahil Pandit said:

@Spence94 This is such a good topic that needs more dialogue around! 

I think the ultimate goal is to work on your inner game so much that the boundary between inner and outer starts to dissolve and you can be an outflow of your all the inner work you've done...

This means embodying wisdom, understanding, clarity, perspective, nuance, etc.

What do ya'll think? 

@zambize @Cepzeu @NoSelfSelf

I like what you said, and I think what you mean by boundaries dissolving is maybe what I'm getting at so you'll have to let me know.

In the original post this was stated:

"but where is the balance between that and your external life/environment?"

This gives me this image of those scales that are symmetric such that when you load up one side, the other side seesaws up.  However I don't think this is accurate, there are many cases where inner/outer work compliment each other.

Ex:

Maybe your emotional control and empathy gets noticed at work, and you get a promotion because your boss sees you as someone that can lead a team effectively with few issues.

Meditation increases willpower, which can be used to keep you focused and push through tough projects at work or in relationships.

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-willpower/201004/meditate-your-way-more-willpower

Now it also works the other way around, you can do outer work to work on inner work in the reverse direction.

Ex:

Instead of putting effort into meditation, you pump it into getting studying/projects/better job solely to gain capital, this extra money allows you to feed yourself/go on retreats/buy drugs <<<<<<<<< (personal favorite) which will inevitably help your inner-game.

I think it's possible to get in these cascading positive feedback loop in which inner-game benefits outer-game which further benefits inner game and so on and so on, so this idea that there needs to be a balancing doesn't seem like the right mental image to have.  I would say an ideal situation would be all of your inner-game benefiting your outer game, the first example I thought of was being a life coach or personal content provider in which the insights of your inner-game directly financially benefit you.  Maybe @Joseph Maynor has something to chime in? as this sounds like stuff that he has thought about a lot

[Sahil Pandit]

@zambize  You've summoned @Joseph Maynor , the king of nuance and paradox  

[zambize]

Just now, Sahil Pandit said:

@zambize  You've summoned @Joseph Maynor , the king of nuance and paradox  

Just cause I've summoned him doesn't mean he doesn't take one look at this thread and say fuck that haha

[CreamCat]

Leo has a video for you.

 

[Leo Gura]

@Spence94 Since inner/outer is a duality, you should already suspect that this is a rather arbitrary distinction which must ultimately collapse.

Inner affects the outer.

Outer affects the inner.

Because inner = outer. In truth everything is one! So work on both, work on THE ONE.

If you're surrounded by an unhealthy, toxic environment, change it ASAP. That will free you up to do serious inner work. And if you're stuck in an environment with no idea of how to break free, change your inner game, which will allow you to escape that environment.

You can burn the candle from both ends.

[VictorB02]

@Spence94 I think if you are in a situation that is draining you, you should definitely change it. There is definitely a balance that needs to be made

[Dayo]

Great topic. This is what I have been studying and contemplating a lot about the past few weeks.  You need both inner game and outer game. Improving your inner game has an exponential effect on your outer game.

[Spence94]

@Leo Gura A common theme of yours keeping cropping up Leo. "always both, never either/or."

Cheers for the response, it makes total sense.

 

[Spence94]

@VictorB02 @zambize  yeah I think you made some good points man. In some of my note taking the other day I ended up drawing in the corner of  the page Inner and outer game going round in a continuous loop. They feed each other.

As for some specifics. My biggest issue is the country I live in. I have been living  in China for 2 years as an English teacher. While it has been amazing and I am growing and learning and experiencing life in a wonderful way, the people, pollution, noise and chaos of daily living here seems to trigger my lower self responses very frequently... aha. Most young Westeners never get past the 6 month mark as China quickly chews them up and spits them out....

There are multiple ways you can look at this internal/external topic and is really is quite interesting.

I watched Leos Neurosis video and he made the point  about just because you don't need something doesn't mean you wouldn't authentically want it. Change the inner and you can be content with the outer, but it doesn't necessarily mean you gotta just accept and put up with shit you don't like...If changing the outer would create a better circumstance and life for you then by all means go ahead and do it. Shit, you may even need to change the inner again to even make changing the outer a possibility. I am just going in circles now... but that's what it seems to be about.

 

Edited February 16, 2019 by Spence94