USEFULNESS VS. NON-USEFULNESS

The concept of usefulness vs. non-usefulness is critical to self-actualization and self-development. At its core, it involves measuring and assessing the value of our thoughts, behaviors, actions, reactions, and decisions to determine whether they contribute the highest quality against quantity to our lives and those around us.

As a creative mind, entrepreneur, business owner, investor, and business adaptor for more than four decades, I had to remain intelligently and emotionally available to constantly learn and adapt to changes, people, places, things, and especially technologies. Owned by a philosophical oath, I describe as WORTH: Each of us is inalienably [Warded Ownership Rights Through Hardship], and it is up to us to master the Infinite Visual Rhythms Pillars: Self2WORTH-Recognition, Understanding, Respect, Appreciation, Acceptance, Availability, and Self-Adaptation to claim our Ownership Rights. Usefulness is one of many factors I had to borrow, learn to share, master, and then learn to lend.

Fully conscious that I can’t lend what I don’t own, ownership became part of my path to accountability and responsibility. So lending, I learned early in my youth that I was measured and assessed by my gender, race, nationality, religion, how I thought, and how I spoke and wrote. In other words, each of us is a brand of our deliberate and accidental results: I always represent my best and worst.

Part of my lend is the following: Learning to measure and assess usefulness vs. non-usefulness personally and professionally as public speakers, business owners, entrepreneurs, investors, and intuitive, creative business adaptors — we must consider a range of factors, including people, products, services, intent, commitment, context, content, creativity, innovation, need, collaboration, market, copyright protection, patent protection, partnership, and membership. Evaluating past, present, and future usefulness and non-usefulness, as well as short-term and long-term usefulness and non-usefulness, can help us make more informed decisions and take actions that align with our attainable purposes, goals, and tasks.

It’s necessary to note that some actions, behaviors, and decisions are more useful than others. To maximize our usefulness, we must strive to identify and pursue actions that create the most positive impact while minimizing actions with little to no usefulness.

However, usefulness is not just about doing what’s easy or comfortable. In fact, the highest level of usefulness is often associated with discomfort. This discomfort arises when we push ourselves outside our comfort zone, take on new challenges, and grow as individuals. By embracing discomfort, we can become more resilient, adaptable, and effective in pursuing our attainable purpose, goals, and tasks.

At the same time, we must also be aware of the lowest level of non-usefulness. This type of non-usefulness is characterized by lying, dishonesty, neglect, fear, hypocrisy, ingratitude, gossip, backbiting, undermining, failure to speak up, inability to be silent, separation, and distrust. Such actions undermine our relationships, damage our reputation, and ultimately hinder our ability to create value and contribute positively to the world.

Striving for constant usefulness is the key to success and positively impacting the world. We must continuously evaluate ourselves and push ourselves outside our comfort zone to achieve this. It’s important to remember that knowledge is not useful without application and that unintentional non-usefulness can be just as harmful as intentional non-usefulness. Saying kind words is useful, but it’s more useful to take action to help others in their time of need.

Ultimately, living outside of our comfort zone is the best measure and assessment of practical usefulness against non-usefulness. By doing so, we can gain the wisdom and experience needed to create meaningful change in our lives and the lives of those around us.

TAKEAWAYS ABOUT USEFULNESS AND NON-USEFULNESS:

When measuring our actions, behaviors, and decisions, we can use the concept of usefulness vs. non-usefulness as a tool for self-actualization and self-development. Here are some key takeaways:

• The highest level of usefulness is discomfort. Growth and progress often come from pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones.
• On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest level of non-usefulness includes behaviors like lying, dishonesty, neglect, fear, hypocrisy, ingratitude, gossip, backbiting, undermining, and distrust. These behaviors are harmful and prevent positive growth.
• Knowledge is only useful when it is applied. We can accumulate all the knowledge in the world, but it's meaningless if we don’t put it into action.
• Nice words and good intentions don’t always translate to usefulness. Sometimes our actions may unintentionally be non-useful, despite our positive intentions.
• The experience of hoarding wisdom, sharing it with others, and mastering it ourselves is a crucial aspect of usefulness.
• There is a spectrum of usefulness and non-usefulness. Some actions are more useful than others, and it’s essential to be mindful of where our actions fall on that spectrum.
• Constant success can only be achieved through constant usefulness. If we want to achieve our goals and continue to grow, we must prioritize usefulness in our actions and decisions.
• The best way to measure and assess our effectiveness at being useful is by stepping outside our comfort zones. This allows us to challenge ourselves and grow, leading to greater usefulness.