Have you ever been caught up in one of those ethical arguments about the "right way" forward? Surely you have tossed around the question about whether or not the "ends justify the means."
With all the strife in the world these days, this might be a good time to revisit this age old dilemma. The argument has been around for quite some time, going back at least as far as Ovid Heroides ii. 85 (exitus acta probat, the outcome justifies the deeds). The concept has been attributed and misinterpreted most frequently to Niccolo Machiavelli, who authored his version of this time worn notion in "The Prince" ("Il Principe").
A common misinterpretation is to argue that any action can be justified when measured against some kind of desirable outcome. Machiavelli focused primarily on actions taken for the purpose of creating stability or improving government. He also pointed out that the argument could not apply to individuals in search personal aggrandizement. Of course, the challenge often comes down to what looks like desirability or improvement to me may not look so good to you.
Leon Trotsky put it this way: "The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end." The question may turn on something as deceptively simple as defining the end.
As is my wont, I'd like to offer a personal improvement twist on the subject, something that you can read as anything from pie-in-the-sky to down in the dirt practical. Not surprisingly, I'm of the mind that what follows is on the practical side. Rather than seeking to apply what follows to a turbulent world full of injustice and cruelty, how about thinking about these thoughts could be helpful in your own day-to-day experience of life?
Years ago, I was facilitating a personal growth seminar with my friend, Terry Tillman. One of the participants was struggling with what he wanted out of life and how to produce it. Terry coined a terrific twist on the cube when he said, "if you know what you really want, then the ends are the means." That was 30 years ago, give or take a year or two, and the power of what Terry said still reverberates in my daily life.
The power of the ends becoming the means can be found in blending the potent philosophies of two insightful thinkers who influenced my life when I was looking for what I wanted to be when I grew up. Eric Hoffer, the longshoreman philosopher, wrote, "You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy," which I paraphrase in my work as "you can never get enough of what you don't really want."
Fritz Perls, the gestalt psychologist, counseled that simple awareness can often be curative. A simplified view of this notion would suggest that if you were to consider the challenges, difficulties or pain you experience in your life, you may discover that at least some part of the struggle can be attributed to your own choices, or lack thereof. Hence, simple awareness can be curative by opening you up to other choices you can make to improve your experience.
(This one opens a large can of worms for those who prefer to approach life from the point of view that experience is solely a function of what happens to you. As Oscar Wilde wrote: "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you place the blame." If you want to learn more about the power of awareness and choice, consider reading either "Gestalt Therapy Verbatim" or "It's Not What Happens to You, It's What You Do About It.")
Building on Messrs Hoffer and Perls, a key to living life more fully is to discover what you truly seek in life. In my first article on The Huffington Post (and several that followed), I gave some suggestions on how to examine the difference between what you might be pursuing in life compared to what you would hope to experience as a result. A simplified example: people often pursue money hoping that at the end of rainbow they will find security, well-being and peace of mind. But do you know of anyone with loads of money who lacks security, well-being and peace of mind?
In my work with thousands of people in 24 countries around the world, I have found that regardless of culture, most people are after greater peace, love and joy in their lives. Of course, it's pretty unlikely that anyone is going to live in perfect peace, love and joy all of the time. However, what might happen if you were a bit more peaceful, loving and joyous right now? Not perfectly loving, joyous or at peace, just doing what you can with what you have and choosing to bring a bit more peace, love and joy to whatever you happen to be doing today.
Simple stated, Terry's little twist on the notion of the ends being the means would be: if what you're after is greater peace, joy and loving, how about being more peaceful, joyous and loving?
Of course, there's nothing particularly easy about making these choices day in and day out. I find that I struggle with them daily, perhaps even hourly. It's so easy to become distracted by circumstances, emotions and judgments of what's right or fair; yet, if you are going to rise above what befalls you, it will surely be a result of your choice to do so.
So, what do you want? Really? What could you do today to begin producing more of that experience, regardless of your circumstances?
"Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world."
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."
--Anonymous
What about you? I'd love to hear from you about the value you have been able to extract from these articles. Please leave a comment here or drop me an email at russell@russellbishop.com.
If you want more information on how you can apply this kind of reframing to your life, or how you can take a few simple steps that may wind up transforming your life, download a free chapter from Russell's new book, "Workarounds That Work."
You can buy "Workarounds That Work" here.
Russell Bishop is an educational psychologist, author, executive coach and management consultant based in Santa Barbara, Calif. You can learn more about his work by visiting his website at www.RussellBishop.com. You can contact him by email at Russell@russellbishop.com.
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"when feel anger then you see it and let go away" hard to get unless you were there. I see emotions and look at them ,but never touch it. Anger ,just see it put in front of you at a few inches away from arms length and don't touch. No BS about CBT or that crap.
"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”
Acting on some business plan without removing 'fear' may lead to money and success, but the foothold that fear took will work toward encouraging unhappiness. Who do you know is afraid and happy? Who do you know that is happy, are they afraid?
I think you have an amazing point in here about love and security. I would also venture to say that love, joy, and peace are all parts of living in the moment and being happy. Just be those things "right now" as much as possible.
There are a lot of different philosophy outlooks on this topic. I would like to read some more ideas and hopefully uncover some of my own more as well within my own personal writings.
I thoroughly enjoyed your post, very thought provoking!
Jeff
My blog: http://jeffjonesrock.blogspot.com
You're a gift, Mr. Russell.
"You can have everything if you let yourself be."
And the specific "thing" he was talking about is the easiest thing in the world to do. Consider the possibilities of what will happen if this project continues to its logical conclusion...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abiOrpuHQ5s
For me, this is one of those "duh" situations that I think we all need reminding of! The phrase, "fake it 'til you make it" came to mind. A few years ago, I tried this out...I really focused on positivity in my life. I didn't feel positive, happy, or peaceful. But as I “faked” it and practiced it deliberately, I felt a shift. Easy? No. But, it got easier with PRACTICE and it truly changed my outlook. Is life always rainbows and baby animals? Hell no. But the work I did to ingrain a more positive outlook makes a difference in how I react to the barbs of life. I think the thing that a lot of people miss is that it might take a good deal of “work” to change the brain patterns regarding negative vs positive thinking, or as you put it, peace, love, joy, etc. Thanks for your article.
But has it? How real is someone's happiness when it's based on external, rather than internal, factors? How solid and unflappable is it going to be? How fast would it all collapse if the props holding it up suddenly disappeared?
No, you can't externalize real happiness. It doesn't work; it's simply a cultural delusion within a field of illusion. To find real happiness we need to look within ourselves to where the real happiness resides. There we find that the pot of gold isn't "out there" at the end of the rainbow. There is no "out there", there is only "in here" - and that's where we find happiness, through being our happiness.
I AM peace, love, and joy. And everything else? Props. It's all just props.