Just Say ‘No’ To Zero-Sum Gamers

Tao Of Yummi Sutra 15: How Can Destruction Be Powerful?

The ultimate creative space is the open space of the Universe. This is the ultimate representation of potential. You can do anything, be anything, all of potential is open to you.

You don’t have to wait for the heavens to open, and a chorus to announce your cosmic calling, to live into purpose. You don’t need to become a parent to have “your baby.” Creation is both a power and an experience that is available to all of us.

Create what truly matters to you. Use authenticity and love. Your creation will become “your baby.”

Take the necessary steps to bring “your baby” into the world. You’ve started a cycle of creation, nurturing and mindfulness. This purposeful orientation holds the potential to change your life and the lives of those around you.

Even babies themselves are powerful creators. Think of the last time you were charmed by a baby. Did the baby inspire joy? Wonder? Hope? Powerful stuff.

Create each day, whether it’s a new invention or a new attitude. Start with love, be authentic and mindful, and you can change the world in ways both large and small. It’s all change, and this is what moves things forward.

We can create joy and wonder by a multitude of means…it’s just a little easier when you’re brand new, cute as a button, and have no concept of fear.

Each act of creation, great or small, can be a path to purpose. It begins when you see a need and continues as you consider how to fulfill that need. Armed with your unique perspective, you create authentic value. Whether you’re building a birdhouse or launching a business, it all starts in the same place…grounded in the value of your authentic Self.

This purposeful path leads to inspiration — and the act of creation is fueled by it. Mindful in the moment, you avoid attaching to expectations of a future that hasn’t happened yet. Without attachment, the fear of not meeting those expectations has nowhere to take root. Free of fear, you open to the delightful and unexpected. Your inspiration is right here.

Fear can carry us away. When we choose to engage with fear, we activate the “lizard brain.” The “lizard brain” shuts everything else down to focus us on “fight or flight.” During “fight or flight,” there’s no room for inspiration.

The good news is that it’s a two-way street. Where inspiration grows and flourishes, fear has no place to take root.

What does art mean to you? Does art happen without a gallery to show it or a record label to promote it? What about the art of a small child? Does it need to show in a gallery or is it art? What about the art of navigating a complicated situation or the artistry demonstrated when you find a great mechanic for your car?

Have faith in yourSelf from the beginning. There is a lifetime of skills, experience, and unique perspective at your disposal. Perhaps you’ve even created a Meta-perspective, a lens through which you view and communicate…like a special approach to photography, a distinctive methodology to solve business issues, or even a singular reputation for positive advice in your workplace that creates culture. This is your authentic value.

Wherever you find yourSelf, you’ve been brought here by a lifetime of choices. Whether you see it or not, that lifetime of choices is already purposeful. Choose to live into purpose and ask yourSelf, “what do I think, that’s true to me, about the opportunity I face?” Begin with a single act and build on it. Become mindful in the moment and open to the delightful and unexpected. Feed your creativity with this inspiration.

See the art that you do. Love yourSelf to love others and see their art as well. If you want to live a beautiful life, surround yourSelf with beauty. The first step is to see it. As ever, it’s your choice to take the first step.

Do you believe in abundance, and that there can be enough for all? If so, you probably don’t see life through the lens of the ‘zero-sum game’. A ‘zero-sum game’ is one in which your loss is always someone else’s gain. In other words, to get ahead, it must be at the expense of another. Does it have to be this way? Let’s think about this…

Taking more at the expense of another extracts value. It’s a mode of being based in fears…both being fearful oneself and arousing fear in others. Zero-sum is a ‘value-extractive’ as opposed to a ‘value-creative’ orientation.

Destruction takes it a step further to ‘value-destructive.’ It’s usually motivated by fearful, value-extractive behavior based in a fundamental belief in the zero-sum game. The people committed to this game shape their lives on fear. It may not seem like it due to their aggression, but zero-sum gamers are deeply fearful, which they in turn manifest into the world as a tool to jealously possess more while they play their zero-sum game. This is the underlying motivation behind blood diamonds, Wall Street scandals, and war.

When you see others accomplishing great things, rejoice rather than becoming jealous. Jealousy comes from fear and fear blocks inspiration. If those who share purpose with you succeed, it simply validates and furthers your purpose — you succeed as well. Learn, create, contribute…live into purpose, be mindful in the moment and you’ll open to the delightful and unexpected.

Living into purpose may not require a parade of angels to announce your celestial mission, but it does entail a commitment to your authentic value and values.

Given the choice to be value-creative or value-destructive, which would you choose?

Fear motivates some to see life as a zero-sum game, where your gain is their loss. Zero-sum gamers may attack your authentic value because they see it as a threat to what they jealously possess. Do not get drawn into playing someone else’s game. Living into purpose is value-creative. Be mindful in the moment so ‘fight or flight’ doesn’t carry you away to unconsciously take part in a cycle of mutual destruction. No matter how talented the zero-sum gamer may seem to be, this is not a zero sum game. If you wouldn’t choose to be value-destructive, don’t let fear make the choice for you.

The Universe is unfolding as it should, and your authentic Self is an expression of the Universe. You have the power to choose creation.

A trail of broken dreams and people leaves nothing for the rest of us. Appreciate yourSelf as an essential part of the Universe, and you will realize that the love, creativity, purpose, and mindfulness you invest in each moment are also an investment in yourSelf.

If you want to live a beautiful life, create beauty wherever you are, until you are surrounded by it. The zero-sum game is a game of mutual destruction. Playing that game, even unintentionally, will carry you away from a beautiful life. Surround yourSelf with destruction, regardless of intention, and your life will become barren like a desert…but without the unearthly beauty.

Remain true to your value-creative orientation. Add authentic value wherever you are. This is living into purpose. Without attaching to expectations or future ‘what if’s,’ you will become mindful in the moment. You’ll open to Serendipity, which will give life a luminous quality. Every little bit of the delightful and unexpected paid to you from the Universe holds the power to further manifest your authentic value. How will you use it?

Faith!