Extreme Ownership and Service to Others is how we change the world

In my opinion extreme and total ownership is the only way for this world to change.

“Implementing Extreme Ownership requires checking your ego and operating with a high degree of humility. Admitting mistakes, taking ownership, and developing a plan to overcome challenges are integral to any successful team.” ― Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Jocko Willink embodies this mentality and is one of the people I turn to when I need motivation. This mentally has been helping me change my life and empowering me to help others as well.

Not only owning everything but checking your ego and operating with a high degree of humility being the key points.

“PRINCIPLE Ego clouds and disrupts everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to accept constructive criticism. It can even stifle someone’s sense of self-preservation. Often, the most difficult ego to deal with is your own.” ― Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Ego, humanities most crippling disability. The driving force behind our narcissism and small minded nature. The main reason for the fall of man.

“Extreme Ownership. Leaders must own everything in their world. There is no one else to blame.” ― Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Everyone must adopt this main principle in order for this world to step into the next stage. These principles have been spoken about in other ways throughout the centuries and even millennia.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

“The Simple Path Silence is Prayer Prayer is Faith Faith is Love Love is Service The Fruit of Service is Peace” ― Mother Teresa

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

O people of Islam, "You are the best people ever raised for the good of mankind because you have been raised to serve others; you enjoin what is good and forbid evil and believe in Allah." (3:111)

As you can see the idea of ownership is embodied within scripture and spoken of as service to others by many activist, religions as well as by other great philosophers and civil right's activist alike.

These principles are what the world needs the most.

Its how I have lived my life for years. A simpler other way to state it is "learn how to be honest about ourselves, our manners, and how we speak to people" .

All of this philosophy starts with learning to be honest about ourselves. Learning to accept we are not always right, and maybe we should listen to others sometimes.

a reply to: onequestion

No disagreement here One. How would you say that your life has changed by making an attempt to follow these ideals? For instance, as compared to how you were, how is your humility level now? How have you noticed a difference?

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Well it may be hard to tell from my post but humility has been a regular practice for me for the past few years. I learned a lot of lessons during my professional fighting career in the humility department towards the end.

The ownership mentality has changed my approach to almost everything from choosing to workout to how I do everything, it basically seeps into every aspect of your life if your truly take it and run with it.

From eating healthier which I still struggle with to not making excuses when getting out of bed, alarm goes off, up out of bed, don't feel like going to the gym, get your # together and go anyway, and so on and so forth.

I do what I can to be nice to people and try and do whatever I can for people however little it is.

a reply to: AmericanRealist

Totally agree, honesty is one of the hardest thing for all of us to acquire. Self knowledge is a doosy.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Well I can honestly say that changing my mindset has helped me to manage my anger better than I did in my youth. Many times the source of our anger at anything ca be found from within if we look hard enough. But thats is more with people to people encounters and not from a political standpoint.

I am alot more calm now in this part of my life, and have developed a keen ability to deescalate even the most hostile situations with people. I have always volunteered for stuff in my life though. it just feels good to do right and help others.

One of my things is to clean up trash from the views I enjoy most. That got me kicked off a FedEx lot though for cleaning up the rubbish around a beautiful retention pond they had that attracted some nice birds too. Their solution was to put a fence around it now. What a view killer. Oh well.

a reply to: onequestion

Not making lite here but when you say "I learned a lot of lessons during my professional fighting career in the humility department towards the end." it sounds like you had your humility beat into you. Just a bit of a joke there by the way but it does serve my next question. That being the process of developing ones humility. What physical actions can help in this process. What is the nature of a persons 'inner dialogue' on this, that is how do our inner reflections transpire for instance in our political dialogue. How do we humbly approach some of these current 'hotbed' issues? I hope you don't mind my asking because to me these kinds of discussions are helpful in overcoming some of the 'standoffs' we see in our political debates.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Well it starts in my opinion with compassion and understanding.

Understanding that I am equally as flawed as my fellow man and that we can only overcome these flaws by our willingness to work together.

The only way to deal with hotbed issues to realize that they are illusions of separation and that by cultivating a culture of compassion and ownership and service we no longer have these issues because we realize these issues are products of our ego and insecurity. Both of which are eliminate by total ownership and humility.

It's very utopian in idea but I don't believe in the impossible.

a reply to: onequestion

While I am totally a believer that my world is what I have made it; I don't really feel like being a service to others. I get that some people like doing that and I do some things like coach and help out my neighbors, but I just don't enjoy volunteering and such things in most instances.

If you were to say we all are personally responsible for where we are in life I would agree. If you are asking me to take responsibility for others then we are on a different page.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: onequestion
I do some things like coach and help out my neighbors.

Even those little acts can be making the world for the ones you help. That is all it takes. You may not even realize you are being a great example and inspiration to your community by doing just that. Keep it up

a reply to: onequestion

I like the extreme ownership aspect you mention. This idea of going about our lives and taking complete responsibility for our actions. And it does fit with many of the teachings of the past as you point out. The idea of not just going along with the crowd, of not adhering to a flock mentality. Of being a free agent. A free agent with a responsibility to then help others achieve free agency too. And I add that last bit in agreement with you that the 'service to others' is paramount to a balanced life, even to a life of extreme ownership. Somewhere in the Bible is the idea that 'for what gaineth a man if he owns the whole world yet looseth his soul, or something like that. That physical action or rather 'interaction' with others I think is important to the individual. If one has something one feels inclined to share, something like the ideas you present above, something that could help us as individuals, as two people as three or more people move on to a higher or broader or fuller plain of interaction then we are all blessed though that action.

Many who do not understand this "way" will do you harm and justify it through the "way" they think things to be.

I don't know what else to say.

One can only take so much damage....

a reply to: MyHappyDogShiner

I don't take damage I own it.

Ever since my interest in spirituality first came about I always had the view that the first step was to take full responsibility for everything in my life. This was a logical consequence of karma as I saw it. Don't get me wrong, I still complain and I sometimes blame others but underneath it I know there's no one else to blame but myself.

I like this attitude.. Stoicism.

O people of Islam, "You are the best people ever raised for the good of mankind because you have been raised to serve others; you enjoin what is good and forbid evil and believe in Allah." (3:111)

Oh man.. did he get that wrong. Never have there been a religion as destructive to humanity as Islam. Never have there been a religion that retarded civilisation more than Islam.

Seems he had high hopes for Muslims, they didn't exactly live up to any such expectations though.

a reply to: TheLaughingGod

Umm, I think the natives of the entire Western Hemisphere may have a different opinion. Especially considering Islam spread to the majority of Asia through peaceful cultural exchange. The reason Christianity is not as widespread in Asia (Russian exception) is due to the fact that it was forced by the sword in more lands than Islam, and Asia don't play that game. Neither does Africa either clearly.

Both religions though, when not being practiced falsely by fanatical fakes, practice wonderful and beautiful service and honor to their respective communities. Don't allow perception to cloud your mind. Be better than that.

a reply to: AmericanRealist

Tell that to the 400 million Hindus killed by Muslims..

According to The Encyclopedia of Wars(by Phillips and Axelrod)6.98% of all wars were waged in the name of religion and of that 3.75% were waged in the name of Islam, more than all the other religions combined.

I don't care about the exceptional people in these religions, I care about their collective effect. It's entirely possible to only look for and find wonderful quotes from the Quran, it's just as possible to find death and destruction being praised. In its entirety Islam has been a violent scourge on the World.

Everything is perception..

a reply to: TheLaughingGod

ok whatever, lets go to a different thread then and talk about it then. This is supposed to be a positive discussion on something else completely unrelated. Check your pre-existing biases at the war on terrorism or Middle Eastern issues forums and then send me an invite. I was hoping to engage with others on a more positive on topic discussion related to the OP, not the usual finger pointing 2 minutes of hate stuff that we already discuss in every other forum.

a reply to: AmericanRealist

I have said what I wanted to say..

If you want to engage me look at my history of posts and choose any discussion centering on Islam. Just reply to any post you might fancy.