Written by: Reem Borrows, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
TV is not my thing. If you left it up to me, the TV would never be turned on in our home. There are so many other things I would rather do, and as I reflect, I guess you could say I’m a bit of a TV snob.
Until a friend recommended I watch the Netflix series Lucifer that is. At first, I laughed at the thought of enjoying a show about the devil. Just the idea of Satan retiring to LA to run a nightclub and pairing with a homicide detective to punish the guilty here on earth seemed pretty silly to me. But then, one evening, I turned it on, and by the end of the second episode, I was hooked. One could argue the execution of the show is flawless because how else can so many viewers be hooked? But it’s more than that.
The show in itself is repetitive, the plot shallow, the ending of most episodes predictable in that the bad guy gets caught every time, and it’s cheesy. Yet, it struck me how many valuable lessons we could all learn from this show, in both our personal and business lives. It had me hooked because of its simple yet powerful messages.
Here are just 4 things I have taken away from this show that has taught me to question and understand human behavior, actions, and results even more:
1. Desire
In every episode, we see Lucifer use one of his key superpowers - Hypnosis. Satan has the ability to draw out anyone’s deepest, darkest secrets and desires. The person he is using his “mojo”, on usually involuntarily, reveals their innermost desires and secrets after being asked one simple question:
“What is it that you truly desire?”
From there, we hear every person responding with their true inner wants and dreams. This is where we realize that so many dreams are not being lived and left to waste away.
This may just be a show, but how many of us do that in real life? How many of us are doing exactly what it is that we truly desire? If not, why aren’t we? Where does that leave us? How satisfied are we, and how are we turning up each day if we are not following our dreams? What is stopping us from following our desires?
There is so much information out there on the power of following our dreams, and yet according to the “Global Emotional Report” – 2017, 85% of people are not happy in the workplace, and close to 40% claimed they suffered from stress.
What is it going to take for us to live our life by design? If we are not in control of our life, then who have we relinquished that control to? What do we need for each of us to take that control back?
Finally, if 85% of people are not satisfied in their workplace, what does this mean for organizations? Are we getting the best possible results with the best possible plans and solutions? Or are we merely grinding our way through each day and allowing circumstances to control all outcomes? What is the opportunity cost of this to business?
I don’t think you can ask this question of yourself enough times each and every day before making a decision. There are many variations of this question, including:
What do I want?
What would I like the outcome to be?
What does the solution look like?
Ideally, how would I like this situation to be resolved?
Imagine the results we will get when we always work from the end in mind by focusing on what we want, rather than allowing what we don’t want to take control of?
2. Accountability
What an incredible lesson this was to learn from the show. Satan often points out that he is merely the keeper and minder of Hell. People blame him for the evil they face.
What we learn is that we need to take responsibility for who we have become and the actions we take. In reality, what happens to us is not always our fault, but our responses to those events should not be excused by them: we have a lot more power over our lives than we think.
It is easy to shift the blame on everything outside of us, but it’s only when we take responsibility and full accountability for everything that happens in our lives that we grow and flourish.
Lucifer himself even blames God for his own misfortune. He looked like a monster simply because he saw himself as one. Only when he believed and showed otherwise did he gain his angel wings back.
How often do we play the blame game and not take responsibility for the results in our life or in business? The reason we look to blame others or outside circumstances is to make ourselves feel better and to fill a void we already have on the inside. We have been conditioned to do this. When we judge, it makes us feel better, but only temporarily. The challenge with this blame game is we then create our own pain by wishing for something to be different, and yet again, we relinquish control.
Just imagine what we could create if we stopped blaming external circumstances, accepted responsibility, and looked from within for optimal solutions? How much more powerful would the solutions and results be?
In the workplace, we see people ducking and shifting blame as a self-protection mechanism all the time. So much time and energy can be saved when we accept full accountability and once again move on to the solution. Where our attention goes, our energy flows.
3. Perception
This is where Lucifer becomes an even more interesting show. There are angels, demons, and various distinctive otherworldly beings running around. On the surface, it’s a case of good vs evil, right vs. wrong. Or so you think. After watching a couple of episodes, you come to see how everything and everyone can be tested.
One minute you are watching angels protecting humans and then turning on them with their full wrath. The next minute you experience an enormous amount of pull towards the “demons” rescuing, protecting, saving the world, and you are cheering them on. You can even empathize with those who have done wrong and want them to be granted a second chance. The show provides us with an opportunity to see things from a completely different viewpoint.
How can this be? We watch almost every character being pushed to the edge and having to make choices they normally would not have to make and are surprised by the pure evil or pure kindness they display. This leaves you wondering what is right or wrong, and what is good or bad?
The answer all depends on what lens we are using to judge.
Perception is such a powerful mental muscle when used to its fullest potential. According to Dr. Joe Dispenza, a Neuroscientist, we have up to 400 billion bits of information coming at us in any one second. To cope with this flood of information, our brain works hard to filter as much of what is being thrown our way as possible. We are only aware of 2,000 bits of this information in any one second. Which 2,000 bits of information we become aware of will all depend on our beliefs, values, and conditioning.
So, the most important questions to ask ourselves are; What are we not seeing? What are we not aware of? How can we perceive things differently? If we looked at things from a different vantage point, would our decision, judgment, or views be different?
This is precisely why we need so much more diversity in our lives and our workplace. To have a fixed mindset to only allow limited views based on what we are aware of inhibits growth.
How often do you find yourself unwilling to accept new ideas? What if there was always a better way of doing things? What if you allowed yourself to entertain a whole host of new ideas before making a decision? In a work setting, how powerful would that be? Rather than doing things “as we have always done them” and expecting new results, what would happen if we truly embraced new possibilities? What if we stopped judging and allowing ourselves to be locked into narrow views?
What Is Judgment Anyway And How Quickly Do We Judge?
Judgment is one of the biggest blockers of creativity. The only reason we judge others is to make ourselves feel better and deflect what we don’t want ourselves to feel on the inside. This may make us feel better temporarily, but it’s not a fix because we are robbing ourselves of so many possibilities, and that void we feel will always come back until we fill it the right way from the inside.
So, ask yourself these questions: How often have you rejected an idea or judged someone in the workplace? What if by doing this, you robbed yourself and your team of an incredible opportunity to learn and grow because you allowed your ego to get in the way?
4. Faith Over Fear – Letting Go Of Ego
This brings us to the final point—the Ego. Our ego is there to protect us because that is how our brain has been wired. We live in a 2020 body with a prehistoric brain. It’s a case of fight or flight, feeling safe and accepted and never being rejected from the “herd.” Safety comes in numbers, and so conformity is a mechanism our brain uses to help protect us from being thrown out of the “herd.”
What does this mean? Well, we are conditioned to live through fear. Lucifer is based on three key elements.
What is it that you truly desire?
You create your own reality, and depending on what you focus on, you get what you ask for. If you focus on what you want, you create what you want. If you focus on everything you don’t want, you will create that precisely. You choose!!
Do you have a fixed mindset, and are you judging a situation with limited information? Or do you have a growth mindset and are open to exploring and entertaining many ideas before accepting or rejecting them?
Again, according to Lucifer Morningside, he is merely the keeper of “Hell.” It is humans that choose their path. While pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice. The only reason we suffer is that we are constantly in resistance mode. We resist because we are operating from a place of fear to protect ourselves without even realizing it. We are constantly looking to the external world to find what is missing, yet we already have everything we need inside us. Most of us look at this and think this answer is too simple. “What do you mean we already have everything inside us? Surely there is more?”
Well, this is as simple as it gets. You already have everything you possibly could want, so stop looking far and wide and go within. The second you take accountability and responsibility for everything in your life is the second you start to grow.
Jim Rohn puts it best:
“Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development because success is something you attract by the person you become.”
The first place to start is self-development, and as our infamous Lucifer would ask:
“What is it that you truly desire?”
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Reem Borrows, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Reem Borrows, the founder of Dreem Coaching and Consulting, facilitates change for meaningful growth. For over 20 years, Reem worked in Senior Leadership Roles, leading and developing effective teams and individuals across the areas of Sales, Marketing, and Training. Today, she uses her knowledge and expertise to help people realize their full potential in both business and personal goals. Reem’s authenticity as a leader, her business acumen, mindset development strategies, and her dedication to achieving results are the foundation of her work. She cultivates the principles, strategies, execution plans, and fundamentals of a winning mindset. She has a passion for helping people find their true calling so they can unleash their inner power. Reem focuses on helping her clients grow exponentially with Balance, Focus, and Flow. Her services are the helpful current that pushes clients in the right direction and provides them with the structure they need to make vital progress with results that stick.
