It is one thing to advise “Few Needs”, quite another to embody this precept. Need is deeply rooted and habitual. For this reason, I have found it very helpful to approach Need somewhat craftily by the way Need expresses itself. A prime manner in which this happens is how we unthinkingly Assume and Expect things. (The Shadow Game intentionally induces such behavior even to the point that it becomes addictive.) Thus the Practice “No Assumptions, No Expectations.”
Practice:
- 3 times this week where you were mindlessly making unexamined Assumptions and nourishing Expectations but caught yourself, reversed from the undertow, and challenged these Assumptions and Expectations. Ask yourself, “How real and fact-based is this Assumption? What are the data? Do I really Need to have this Expectation? And take note of the Outcomes.
- Track your situations in Field Notes (Form) (see the Wisdom Practice on Field Notes)