Someone is Always Looking
June 4th, 2007 by Richard CockrumWhile he was guest-blogging for Darrin Rowse at Problogger.net, Tony Hung posted about The Rules Behind Creating a Great Blog. One thing in particular caught my eye Tony was talking about integrity when he said:
Devaluing your own work is a step away from making all kinds of concessions because you start thinking that no one is looking — or no one will know.
Broaden this a bit from just our writing to our entire life. What do you do when you think no one will know - when no one is looking? The thing is, whether you are in a cabin in the woods, a cave on the mountain, the heart of the city, a house with six other residents, someone is always looking. It may be your wife or husband. It may be your child. It may be your coworker. It’s always yourself. Even in the privacy of our minds. Especially in the privacy of our minds. We note each thing we do. We note what we say. We note what we think.
We come into being with the tools of creation at hand. We think. We feel. We act. We form patterns where there was none before. Our imaginations draw skeins of experience together and throw out new threads to follow. Always we see what we’re doing. Always we know what we’ve done. Always we are looking.
Ask yourself - do I want to remember this in twenty years?
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June 4th, 2007 at 6:50 am
Hi Rick, my sense is that our thoughts become our actions. We actually build dendrite connectors in our brain for the things we think about. So if a person thinks about what it would be like to have an affair and imagines scenarios, soon that person acts on it.
Similarly, if you think about beauty and the goodness of others toward you, you grow more into these attributes.
We make the choices, but our mind plays them out well in advance.
June 4th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Rick,
Great post! I think a lot of it boils down to confidence as well. Even if you get clean away with something that is less than your own standards, and no one finds out, YOU will still know about.
Over time, that can degrade your belief in yourself, which is a horrible thing to lose.
June 4th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Hi Robyn,
Exactly! That on which we dwell is that which will grow.
June 4th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Thank you, Aaron.
You make the point very well. None know our hearts better than us. The loss of belief in oneself is one of the saddest things that can happen to us. It is much easier to lose than it is to regain - though once lost it can be regained.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Believing no one cares is a problem that leads to host of social ills. It leads to thinking YOU don’t matter, but YOU do, no matter who YOU are.
And yes! I hope I remember this in 20 years.
June 5th, 2007 at 6:01 am
That’s a thought and belief that I want people to remember 20 years from now, a 100 years from now, and today, Steve. You’re right,. It has led to many social ills.
June 9th, 2007 at 8:19 am
[…] Shards of Consciousness - Rick points out a very enlightening fact in his post Someone is Always Looking. He is absolutely right, and you can seriously set yourself up for failure if you don't take […]