The Code of the Extraordinary mind
The subtle art of becoming unfuckwithable.
Are you like me? Being the curious person that I am, I am always on the prowl for new ideas and new ways of making my life easier or more satisfying and fulfilling. It is a quest for me, maybe a hobby or life-long interest.
I came across the concept of being unfuckwithable in the book, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, by Vishen Lakhiani.
The idea is that you are so rooted in yourself and your beliefs that you can’t be emotionally triggered by ideas and be caused to act out of yourself.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t change your mind when you get new information. It just means that other people’s jackassness doesn’t knock you sideways.
Unfuckwithable: When you are truly at peace and in touch with yourself. Nothing anyone says or does bothers you and no negativity can touch you. In other words, you can not be fucked with. -Vishen Lakhiani
This is what Vishen has to say about it. I realize it is impossible to cram this entire book into a blog post but I hope these ideas will give you some food for thought.
Living in the Culturescape.
Culturescape is the environment around you which is made up of human ideas, cultures, mythologies, beliefs and practices. It is what is acceptable and doesn’t get you voted off the island or put in jail.
The culturescape is designed to keep us safe. It is designed to keep our lives running smoothly, although it doesn’t always work that way.
For some people, the safety of the culturescape starts to become boring and they long for some uncertainty, a challenge, to test themselves to see what they are made of. They want to live their life by their own merits.
Lakhiani has divided the pursuit of the extraordinary mind that leads to unfuckwithablity into ten ideas that he calls laws. I’ll call them suggestions.
1. Transcend the Culturescape.
It is never too late to question the rules and get out of our comfort zone. You don’t have to start a multi-million dollar company or rob a bank. But there might be a small thing you can do that will change your life significantly for the better. Something that excites you, or makes you see things a little differently.
Of course, I’m not advocating for criminal activity or being a jerk to other people. Use some sense! I’m asking, what things are you doing that you really don’t believe in? And why are you doing them?
Extraordinary minds are good at seeing the culturescape and are able to selectively choose the rules and conditions to follow versus those to question or ignore. Therefore they tend to take the path less traveled and innovate on the idea of what it means to be truly free.
2. Question the Brules.
Examine the brules ( bullshit rules, according to Vishen) that we adopt to simplify our understanding of the world. What rules or beliefs do you have that no longer work for you?
This how I realized I am an atheist when I was 10. I didn’t know what to call it at the time. I didn’t know there is a word for my non-belief in the things I was being told. There was a feeling of, “Nah, that can’t be right. That doesn’t make sense.”
I didn’t have much of a choice as a child. I had to go to church. I had to watch the Billy Graham telecasts. I dared not say what I was thinking but I was surely thinking it.
I don’t have to act out these rules now as an adult. I get to choose. Still, there is a push-back from some people when they discover my non-belief. This is where being unfuckwithable is useful. I don’t feel the need to explain, defend, or try to convince anybody my way of thinking is right. I don’t get into that conflict.
Extraordinary minds question the Brules when they feel those Brules are out of alignment with their dreams and desires. They recognize that much of the way the world works is due to people blindly following Brules that have long passed their expiration date.
3. Practice Consciousness Engineering.
What you think is what you get.
Learn to accelerate growth by consciously choosing what to accept and what to reject from the culturescape.
Extraordinary minds understand that their growth depends on two things, their models of reality and their systems for living. They carefully curate empowering models and systems and frequently update themselves.
4. Rewrite Your Models of Reality.
Does this really mean what I think it means?
Our models of reality lie below the surface. Often we do not realize we have them until some intervention or contemplative practice makes us aware.
Here is one of mine. Notice I said one. I will never do great things because I don’t deserve to.
When you replace disempowering models of reality with empowering ones, tremendous changes can occur in your life at a rapid pace.
Extraordinary minds have models of reality that empower them to feel good about themselves and powerful in shifting the world to match the vision in their minds.
5. Upgrade Your Systems for Living.
What are your morning habits? How we dress in the morning is a system.
What areas of your life can you upgrade how you to things to become more effective?
Extraordinary minds consistently spend time discovering, upgrading, and measuring new systems for living applied to the life, work. heart and soul. They are in a perpetual state of growth and self-innovation.
6. Bend Reality.
I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.-Alan Watts
Huh? That is exactly what I thought when I first read that quote. Now I understand it a little better.
Your happiness cannot be tied to your goals.
We all have things that we want, that we think will make our lives better. And perhaps having these things or doing these things would make our lives better. But we can only live in the present.
When you live in the present, you realize that you can influence the world outside by changing the world inside.
Extraordinary minds are able to bend reality. They have bold and exciting visions for the future, yet their happiness is not tied to these visions. They are happy in the now. The balance allows them to move toward their visions at a much faster rate while having a ton of fun along the way. To outsiders, they seem lucky.
7. Live in Blissipline.
As it turns out our brains are literally hardwired to perform at their best not when they are negative or even neutral, but when they are positive.-Shawn Achor
There are three paths for advancing your happiness levels.
- Gratitude-the profound appreciation for what is. I have learned to do this in present time. I think it is easier and more beneficial and a lot more fun.
2. Forgiveness-letting go of past hurts. This is a hard one for me.
Feeling righteous indignation toward someone for something they did to you is powerful. You get to be right, making the other person wrong. Holding on to that hurt also takes a lot of energy that could be used to a better purpose. Like hula hooping.
Say to that person who wronged you, (in your mind), I forgive you. This includes yourself. What a relief!
3. Giving-from me to you. Some things you can give are time, understanding, love, compassion, ideas, skills, wisdom, energy, physical help, and money. This an easy one for me.
Extraordinary minds understand that happiness comes from within. They begin with happiness in the now and use it as a fuel to drive all their other visions and intentions for themselves and the world.
8. Create a vision for Your Future.
Now we’re getting to the fun part.
Choose ends goals, not means goals. What is the end goal you want to achieve? Don’t worry about the means, how it is going to happen. You don’t have to know that yet.
When means goals become your intent, you miss the point.
Means goals are something like, I want to make a certain income so that . . . . If there is a so that attached to your goal, most likely it is a means goal.
End goals are about feelings. For instance, I want to feel love, to be happy, to be joyful, to be in love.
Extraordinary minds create a vision for their future that is decidedly their own free from the expectations of the culturescape. Their vision is focused on goals that strike a direct chord with their happiness.
9. Be Unfuckwithable.
Create some self-fueled goals. A good end goal is something you have complete control over. No object or person can take it away from you. One suggestion is, I will always have the most amazing beautiful human experiences.
Realize that you are enough. Stop comparing yourself to other people. Stop wasting your time and psychic energy seeking other people’s approval.
Become immune to others’ behaviors, criticism or judgement. That’s a tough one. I’m not talking about a trusted friend’s honest feedback about your work or creative projects. I’m talking about other people’s opinions about you that don’t matter.
Extraordinary minds do not need to seek validation from outside opinion or through the attainment of goals. Instead, they are truly at peace with themselves and the world around them. They live fearlessly-immune to criticism or praise and fueled by their own inner happiness and self-love.
10. Embrace Your Quest.
Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. You somehow already know what you want to become. Everything else is secondary.
It takes time and it won’t be easy. But if you have a passion that keeps you going, you have an edge. Take a step. You don’t have to know how to do it. Just start and the way will become visible.
Extraordinary minds are motivated by a quest or a calling-a drive to create a positive change in the world.This drive propels them forward in life and helps them to gain meaning and to make a meaningful contribution.
In summary
Here are a list of the steps. I hope you find some value in these ideas.
- Step out of the culturescape.
- Toss away the brules.
- Grab your toolkit for consciousness engineering.
- Pick up your empowering models of reality.
- Don’t forget to pack your systems for living.
- Keep your mind firmly on bending reality.
- Walk with Blissipline.
- Hold your end goals firmly in your hand.
- Be unfuckwithable.
- Open that door and march firmly toward your quest.
