The Great Obstacle
What keeps us stuck and how to break free
When we attempt to change our behavior, we very often end up falling into the same old patterns we are trying to escape. This happens because we get stuck on a level of introspection that deals only with what our actions are and not why we do them. To find the roots of our actions we have to look at our beliefs about ourselves and the world. The most powerful of these beliefs are convictions. A conviction is not merely a belief in something but a knowledge. You would not say you believe the sun will rise tomorrow, you simply know that it does and that it will. You have seen it happen over and over again for your entire life and so your knowledge of the sun’s rising excludes doubt altogether. For the low status, our knowledge of our own failure is as sure as the sun’s rising.
Investigate the mind of the perpetually low status and you will see that they are imprisoned by these convictions about their own failure. They are not only convinced that the world itself is against them, but that they themselves are actually made for failure. These convictions run so deep as to comprise one’s very identity. Whenever you think to yourself: “I am not the kind of person who does XYZ”, you can be sure you have encountered one of these foundational convictions that make up your sense of self.
These convictions are actually what determines what actions we see as acceptable. This is why holding negative convictions about yourself will ultimately lead to behavioral failure. If you do not believe something is possible, you will not try for it.
Some of these convictions may very well be true. Obvious facts of reality like your inability to outrun a car or to jump off a cliff and start flying only become obscure in cases of insanity. However, even healthy and normal people can fall for deceptions or distortions when unconsciously forming their convictions. In the case of the very low status, many of the our identity convictions are poisoned in part or in whole by our perpetually negative perception.
The role of a brain system called the reticular activating system seems to be at work in controlling what information we notice and therefore what evidence our convictions about reality will be based on. This is the true mechanic behind what Vox Day knew as psychological curses - negative suggestions that poison or decalibrate your R.A.S. and perception of the world. Because this process is largely unconscious or subconscious, you do not even realize that you are perceiving reality in such a way that excludes possibilities of success. Hope is quitely snuffed out and despair is allowed to fester. Before you know what has happened to you, your mind is imprisoned by faulty convictions that you do not even know to question. This is why it is absolutely crucial to point out the positive instead of the negative to those of a low status. We literally cannot see it for ourselves.
We can call this highly destructive process making your own bad luck, as you learn to expect failure in everything you do. Events which could be seen positively or neutrally all become negative. If it were a game, this is the mentality of the player who has already given up on taking the shot. He has already failed in his mind. Why would you try if it were going to lead to failure every time? Despair is the great obstacle.
The only way to escape this miserable state of existence is by consciously making yourself see the good that exists or can exist. As with any skill, it will take time to make this a habit. To do this, you must cultivate a sense of hopeful optimism. It takes a little bit of courage to begin, especially if you are trying to overcome trauma. Those around you may have been hopeless, but no one but God Almighty can see your thoughts, so dare to question the convictions that hold you back. Some of them may be true, partially true, or completely false. Appraise them honestly, if you do not know if a conviction is true, test it out for yourself. What is the worst that could happen?
It should be noted that honesty is crucial. If you try to trick yourself with false positives, you will probably enter a GAMMA-like state of cognitive dissonance as your false beliefs are always on the verge of collapsing. Be honest and do not mistake honesty for cynicism. If you do not know something, admit it readily.
This is the how we can learn to play a different game for status. If we have hope for success, every failure becomes so much easier to bare. When you can learn to endure the pain, you can then start playing.
High-status men don't have time for the self-destructive behavior of Omegas and Gammas or the solipsism/narcissism of Deltas. They are goal-oriented and leverage people to accomplish those goals. To an Alpha/Bravo, you are a tool, and they will replace you with a less problematic one if you become too troublesome or difficult to work with. Deltas can be managed with explicit directions on tasks within their wheelhouse, and Gammas can be reined in by a competent Bravo who knows how to redirect their destructive behavior towards accomplishing tasks that make them feel "Special" without being singularly essential to the goal's success.
Dealing with Omegas can be challenging, as their nature and motivations are a complete mystery to Alphas and Bravos. Omegas are so far outside the hierarchy that they are essentially non-persons, relegated to their dark corners where they perform specialized tasks for which others often take credit. Among the Omegas I've managed, their motivations generally revolved around interests outside of work. To motivate them, I ensured they had ample time to pursue those interests without the pressure of meeting my boss's demands, as long as they accomplished their assigned tasks. The results were mixed.
The importance in how you're viewed can help in forming relevant opinions and convictions about yourself. You are harder on yourselves than anyone else, and the truth is Alphas/Bravos don`t think about you.
"If you try to trick yourself with false positives, you will probably enter a GAMMA-like state of cognitive dissonance as your false beliefs are always on the verge of collapsing."
Yeah that's the perfect description to the trap of self-help books and seminars. They try to whip you up into a positivity-fervor where you just have to belieeeeeve in yourself and you will succeed. It might suck to pop a delusion and realize your true station but self-soothing with lies is walking back into that delusion.