The Three Things You Cannot Hack

Photo by Ilya Pavlov on Unsplash

The internet is littered with articles about “hacking” your life:

  • Hack grocery shopping.
  • Hack pedicures.
  • Hack writing.
  • Hack dog walking.
  • Hack being a good person.
  • Hack cooking.
  • Hack parenting.
  • Hack it already!

What is hacking?

HACK = do it faster already, you glacier!

HACK = why are you making this harder than it needs to be, you dum dum?

HACK = magic shortcut to an awesome life

I think about hacking and WANT the perfect hack. The perfect hack will be THE ANSWER to the times when I toil on and on — and I feel like a suck at something.

It seems like everyone else knows how to hack all the right stuff. Becaus ethey “hack” life — they get incredible job offers. They have adorable homes and amazing vacations (as seen on Instagram). When they write a medium article they hack it so it gets a zillion claps.

Hacks should allow us all to just “do life” better — and we need to be ready to hack EVERYTHING. Right?

It’s time to face the (sometimes) harsh reality of the world:

Some things are not hackable.

BUT WHY?

Because you cannot make a shortcut for being a human being.

(And also — the messy middle. The best stuff in life comes WITH and THROUGH the struggle. Case in point — see below.)

I’m a smart girl. I like a hack. So, I look for the system, the loophole, the quick fix, just like you.

I have come to realize that certain kinds of things just can’t be hacked — no matter what the gurus or the internet tell you.

THREE THINGS THAT CANNOT BE HACKED:

1. AUTHENTICITY

Authenticity is truth and accuracy in showing up as human on this planet. It is stripping away the veneer of “what is expected” and exposing your real self. It is knowing yourself and loving yourself and consistently developing the best of yourself.

Authenticity is highly valued in the market place. People want transparency, truth telling, realness.

Worth a quick discussion: Authenticity is NOT just doing whatever you want and whatever you feel like and then using it as an excuse for being a difficult human being. That might feel real — but it is not the really real you. The really real you is loving and kind and accepting. The other version is just making excuses for not confronting your own bullshit and becoming the best of yourself. The best of yourself IS your authentic self. All the posturing and excuses are NOT the real you. It is the escape mechanism.

Why cant we hack authenticity?

Learning true authenticity is hard. Authenticity requires deep work. Authenticity requires forgiveness. Authenticity requires vulnerability. Authenticity requires introspection and self awareness. All these things take time and diligence and grit.

Authenticity cannot be hacked. This is the day-to-day work of being alive.

2. ENTANGLEMENT

Entanglement is human connection on the quantum level.

When we “get connected” to another human being — our energy states shift. Our energy fields become connected — entangled in fact.

The amazing thing about entangled energy fields is that once energy fields are entangled, they remain entangled even when you are no longer in the same place.

This is why you can reconnect with an old dear friend like no time has passed. This is why sometimes you think of someone — and then they text you. This is why you sometimes just know things about people without being told.

The quantum scientists (physicists) say — that once two particles (energy) are entangled (really a thing) — that they then behave “AS IF THEY ARE ONE.”

AS IF THEY ARE ONE.

Incredible.

Entanglement is a result of real connection. It cannot be hacked. You cannot just touch someone and get entangled. You cannot make a formula for entamglement. You must SURRENDER to entanglement. You must ACCEPT to entangle. You must OPEN to entangle. You have to SHOW UP — all the way, OPEN HEARTED and VULNERABLE.

The instructions above might sound like a “hack” to entanglement but the truth is — we cannot do any of the things above if we do not also do the deep and time consuming work of learning to love and accept ourselves (see authenticity).

There are no shortcuts to entanglement. There is only relentless conscious being and loving intention.

3. COURAGE IN ACTION

Courage is not being fearless. Courage is doing the next right thing even though we are afraid and uncomfortable.

It is not enough to have courage — we must turn our courage into action.

Being authentic and able to become entangled with others requires courage.

Courage in action is:

  • Accepting feedback open-heartedly
  • showing up when there is no quick reward

Courage is what we CONSISTENTLY do.

There is no hack for consistent action. There is no hack for courage.


You see the pattern here, right? These three unhackable things are not only similar, they are interrelated.

Things of sustainable value cannot be hacked. There is no shortcut to becoming.

Whether you are an entrepreneur, a student, or an ordinary person looking to live a more peaceful and joyous life — you will benefit from knowing when to chase the hack and when to understand that many things you truly long for are unhackable. And that’s ok.

Hi! I’m Mary — a chiropractor, a writer, a marketer, and a teacher.

I am the founder of The Art of Story Project, an online business which coaches speakers and content creators to use story to become more powerful influencers.

Press the ❤ below if you liked this story. It means a lot to me. Plus, it helps other people to discover it.

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Mary Lucus-Flannery

Written by

storytelling, public speaking, content creation, wholehearted living, and learning to speak my truth.

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