Beach Walk 102 – #1 and #2: the basics

June 2, 2006 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Here’s an intro into this concept I use, the #1 and the #2 aspects of personality.

h3. About Today’s Show

Every now and then you’ve heard me refer to the #1 and the #2 personality. I talked about it briefly in some very early shows, but have been wanting to have one show that can be a reference. So if you are new to Beach Walks, you can just check out “102” to get an overview of the concept.

Why bother with this 1 and 2 business? I find it really helpful to separate mentally and emotionally from the parts of me that are stuck in the past or the future, or that have a limited view of what is possible, or that just feel overwhelmed by the complexity and frustrations that life sometimes tosses our way. The #2 gets stuck in it while the #1 can observe it and move on. It was a relevant topic for me today as I had a stream of irritations all day long!

I didn’t mention this in the show, but one of the most useful things to remember I think is that the #2 can pop in and take charge of my thoughts and feelings much faster when I am tired. The corollary that consciousness takes energy. Real, measurable, palpable, energy. Some days keeping the #2 in the background can be a real (I mean that literally!) workout. The muscles being built may not be the biceps, but they are powerful nonetheless.

Hawaiian words
Kaʻa: past, days gone by
ʻĀnō: present, now
Mua: future

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Trackbacks

  1. Beach Walks with Rox » Blog Archive » Beach Walk #143 - Grownups for Peace says:
    July 15, 2006 at 11:04 pm

    […] Here are some links for things mentioned in the show. Robert Scoble Learn what I mean about #1 and #2 […]

  2. Beach Walks with Rox » Blog Archive » Beach Walks #145 - Calling Perfectionists says:
    July 17, 2006 at 11:35 pm

    […] Meanwhile, I’ve been affected by videobloggers ebbandflow.tv and ze frank. First, there was jealousy that I was not producing something as beautiful as Jen and Kent nor as funny and spot on truthful as Ze. I thought of my show as rather “pedestrian” (said with snobby Bristish accent). Then I remembered a few things… Fisrt, it is pedestrian – beach WALKS with rox! Then I also remembered that although the #2 can sometimes beat me to the “first response” position, my #1 can easily enough step in and regain consciousness. (See show #102 to learn about 1 and 2.) […]

  3. Beach Walks with Rox » Blog Archive » Beach Walks #147 - You are marvelous! says:
    July 19, 2006 at 11:02 pm

    […] So much of how I experience aloha is through the generosity of people. It gets expressed in so many ways, and one of them is generous people can be with compliments to others. I have found in my life that it not only feels good to give (and receive) compliments, but it is also quite efficient and effective for meeting many goals. When I steer the canoe, I like to catch us paddlers doing something right, and I find the wa’a moves faster across the water. Granted, I have plenty of moments when I want to shout “moron!” at someone who may be interrupting my path, but really, that’s the #2 most of the time, and it doesn’t get me very good results. […]

  4. Beach Walks with Rox » Blog Archive » Beach Walk #152 - Soul Rules says:
    July 25, 2006 at 12:17 am

    […] Despite my attempt to take the charge off of Monday energy, I awoke last night and had trouble falling back asleep. At times like that, I like to use other aspects ofmy awareness to break the energy of the #2 who likes to stir the anxiety pot anytime night or day. In this case, I got up and did some reading, to take my mind off the worries and into something altogether different. It helped; I fell back asleep. […]

  5. Beach Walks with Rox » Blog Archive » Beach Walk #166 - What’s Your Preference? says:
    August 8, 2006 at 7:10 am

    […] Don’t know about the #1 and the #2? please see show #102. […]

  6. Beach Walks with Rox » Blog Archive » Beach Walk #168 - Making Sense of Dream Time says:
    August 10, 2006 at 1:09 am

    […] Don’t know about the #1 and the #2? please see show #102. […]

  7. Beach Walks with Rox » Blog Archive » Beach Walk #184 - A Luxury Sandwich says:
    August 26, 2006 at 12:25 am

    […] Thanks Jonathan in the UK for raising an interesting topic: the lack of motivation that we motivated people can experience when it comes to doing something for ourselves. I have come to realize that this is another challenge between the #1 and the #2. The #2 tends to frame even the smallest decisions into all or nothing, life or death scenarios. When really, most of the time we are facing a choice between two luxuries! It’s like a luxury sandwich — a lot of choice with some uncertainty in between. […]

  8. Beach Walks with Rox - Video » Blog Archive » Beach Walk #233 OTR - Independent Happiness? says:
    October 14, 2006 at 6:32 am

    […] Today I watched a presentation by Dan Gilbert from the TED2004 symposium. He is a Harvard researcher who has discovered that happiness exists not just regardless of our circumstances, but that actually having limits can stimulate more happiness. This is a classic struggle bettween the #1 personality and the #2 – who especially thinks that external circumstances determine happiness. Research proves the opposite is true. See Show #102 to learn what I mean about the #1 and the #2. […]

  9. Beach Walks with Rox - A Little Aloha Every Day » Blog Archive » Beach Walk #274 - Good News, Bad News says:
    November 25, 2006 at 2:03 am

    […] If you’re new to Beach Walks, watch “Show #102” to learn what I mean about the #2. […]

  10. Beach Walk #493 - Caring without Investing says:
    September 14, 2007 at 12:02 am

    […] client may be wanting or expecting. It’s a large client, and that brings out my worrisome #2 (See Episode #102) – she is intimidated by people in […]

  11. Beach Walk #536 - Got a Cold; So What? says:
    November 23, 2007 at 12:05 am

    […] If you are new here to Beach Walks, I talk about the #2 personality in Episode #102 […]

  12. Beach Walk #581 - Contain the Energy says:
    January 31, 2008 at 9:59 am

    […] without the pressure to deliver on a promise we had no idea if we could keep. Though trust me, my little #2 was saying, “Oh of COURSE you can do it every day and think of the advantage you will get by […]

  13. Beach Walk 600R - Ignoring Muscle says:
    March 4, 2008 at 4:34 am

    […] of my favorite workouts: building the ignoring muscle. That’s when I tell my brain (and my #2 – see Show #102 for more info) that all is well and they can ignore whatever irritant may be in front of me. Noisy […]

  14. Beach Walk #396 OTR - Matters of Attention II says:
    June 13, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    […] Links: The Ainokea Episode The #1 and #2 Personality […]