Self Preservation: Good Thing or Needs Tempering?

It seems the older we get the more we start to realize all the things that become important to us and we begin to focus on those things. In doing so we begin to think differently, more openly and with more acumen/clarity.  We listen, observe and ask questions. “Does what I see and hear align with where I want to go. If so, how can I be better at that?  If not, why?”. Does it simply not align with our goals or did we just never think of it that way? "Am I being true to myself or am I compromising my values to fit in?". 

All of these things happen to us on a daily basis but many times we are just too embroiled in our life that we miss them or simply can’t process them at that time. 

While listening to a podcast the term “self preservation” was brought up.  It hit that proverbial nerve sparking reflection and thinking.  We began to think that everything that our body and mind does is to preserve the self; both physically and mentally.

For example a loud noise behind us in an alley and our body and mind immediately work together to “GET YOU OUT OF THERE”. 

Another example might be someone yelling at you for something you did (right or wrong) and immediately your blood pressure spikes, anger boils and you go into protection mode.

Embarrassing moments when someone puts you on the spot in a bad way will likely see the bruised ego come to defend itself. (Link to Sink Hate / Raise Love)

What if we chose to temper self preservation just a little and retrain our thoughts to not always think the worst of a situation. While we certainly don’t want to eliminate self preservation that would be a bad thing.  Perhaps after tempering self preservation, rather than allowing an immediate fight or flight response, we would stick around long enough to realize that the sound we heard in the alley was, in fact, our friends running up to us who we haven’t seen for a long time.  And, what if the person yelling at you just found out they were getting a divorce and had nothing to do with you or your bruised ego?  We've still protected ourselves, but also enjoyed the moment rather than fleeing. 

What if self preservation came in the form of just not caring what other people thought of us.  What if confidence in being ourselves was our self preservation super power.  No need to fight.  Simply stand our ground in our comfortable skin and enjoy the moments as they come. 

Perhaps self preservation is both a good thing and needs tempering.  Just like most things in life, moderation is key.  We surmise this might be the case for Self Preservation, too.