Podcast Transcript | Ep. 64

Authenticity Over Performance: Navigating the Pitfalls of Virtue Signaling

Authenticity Over Performance: Navigating the Pitfalls of Virtue Signaling | Ep. 64

[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to Order Within, navigating a world of endless chaos and crisis. Many of us are experiencing inner turmoil, insecurity, anxiety, fears, and isolation. These feelings are only being amplified by new cycles social media, and never ending political madness. How do we find our way out of the chaos?

[00:00:24] How do we find strength within ourselves? How do we find meaning in a world driven by materialism? These questions and many more I aim to answer on the show. My goal is to be a trusted guide on your journey to selfhood. May you find what you seek. Hello and welcome everyone. I'm your host, Brandon Ward back with another episode of order within.

[00:00:52] Episode number 64 today. Y'all. Cruising right along. Today's show is [00:01:00] called authenticity over performance, navigating the pitfalls of virtual signaling. I despise hypocrisy in many of its forms and virtue signaling is one of those things that's become extremely prominent in our society. And it's causing.

[00:01:20] A lot of division. A lot of pain and suffering. Unnecessarily. And I want to unpack. Where a lot of this comes from. So we're looking at the understanding of virtue, signaling, looking at the harmful effects of fake virtue signaling. We're looking at the importance of authenticity in today's episode. And we're going to talk about counteracting, fake virtue signaling.

[00:01:44] I want to share some little personal IHC story that I experienced recently and give some examples. On why this can be problematic. I've got a few studies. I don't want to talk about too.

[00:01:56] And go from there. So [00:02:00] fate virtue signaling is becoming. It's a relatively new thing in the sense that it's become very popular and prominent in political spheres over the last several years, particularly on social media. I think this extends from the. The challenge that can come from.

[00:02:19] Social media in general, just the ability to live. In authentic lives, presenting ourselves in certain ways that do not match with our actions on a day-to-day basis. And virtue signaling is ultimately the.

[00:02:34] It's the essence of living a false life. So we're going to talk about more about this. And problem with virtue signaling. Is, it can be used in disingenuous or manipulative ways. And you're seeing that a lot right now in our society, particularly from. Political groups and spheres. It's a very prominent way to.

[00:02:59] [00:03:00] Manipulate people, manipulate groups of people, leveraging fear, leveraging. Misinformation, leveraging lies. And getting people to do things that you want them to do. So virtue is a good thing. But signaling virtue is where we get into the problems, because ultimately it's more about presentation than it is about authenticity.

[00:03:21] And that's where performance comes into play here. It's this performance component related to virtue. That is causing a lot of problems and challenges in our society. And so the performance perspective could be.

[00:03:36] Purely. Social credit that you gain from virtue signaling.

[00:03:41] So there's a lot of, it's not just particularly financial payouts. There's actually a lot of financial payouts that are related to this type of behavior, too. Particularly in companies, large corporations. Fortune 500 companies. There's a whole scoring system. That's been rolled out now and developed based on [00:04:00] virtue and equity and inclusiveness and all of these things. Now on the surface, all of that sounds wonderful. Who wouldn't want a more diverse, inclusive.

[00:04:10] Environment in our world and equitable world. It all sounds great, but you have to realize that equitable is a vision that someone has and their version of equity is the fear. Equity in a general sense is a good thing, but equity. Where everyone has the same things, where everyone has the same outcomes, regardless of efforts or talents or skills or abilities that is not a good thing. And that is very dangerous.

[00:04:36] And so we're going to be diving deeper into these, this topic. And looking at the harmful effects that it can have on our society, our communities and ourselves. So virtue signaling. And its original intention. Was a way to express moral values and beliefs. I think there are good components of this telling people the values that you have, the beliefs that you have standing up for [00:05:00] marginalized people.

[00:05:01] Standing up for the things that really matter to you communicating your values, things that are deep in your heart. That's a wonderful thing. But it's gone way too far because. If we're just presenting values or ideas to the world, and we're not following through with them, we're not taking action around them. We're not living true to an honest and noble way of living.

[00:05:25] It doesn't matter how much you signal your virtue or the values that you have, if you're not living true to those values. It's moot. It's pointless. And you're actually now. Deceiving the world. Through virtue signaling. If you're proposing and putting out content or putting bumper stickers on your car or some flags in your yard.

[00:05:48] But you're treating people poorly around you. That's not really doing good for society because treating people kind and just forgetting the bumper stickers and the flags [00:06:00] and everything in your yard is actually a more far more powerful thing to do far more. Influential piece of action to take that can help your community in the day-to-day. So being kind to other people really matters.

[00:06:14] But when we're. This all started about presenting, especially with social media. It all started with presenting who we are, the ideas that we hold dear and the values that we have as people. And we wanted to share those and connect with other like-minded individuals. We want to rally around missions and visions.

[00:06:31] And the values that we have, that's a wonderful thing, but if it's not connected, To action and authenticity. It quickly slides into tyranny and that's where we are today, from my perspective.

[00:06:46] Because what it is it's a form of social signaling. And so this. What's it. What it's turning into is more of a power play, a social power play than it is anything else. So social signaling is [00:07:00] because we're social creatures. We're communal creatures. We're tribal animals.

[00:07:05] We're not just animals though. We are beings of spirit first and that's something that we've flipped in our world. As people don't view us as spiritual beings, having physical experiences, we see ourselves as physical beings who are questioning, whether we have anything beyond this, that's causing a huge problem in our society, but that's not the topic of today's episode.

[00:07:24] Social signaling. And leveraging the social power that comes from being social beings. Is where this all starts. So you can signal out your values to seek approval or validation. And connect with certain groups rather than having genuine virtue, genuine virtue is actually doing things for other people, living true to your words, aligning your words and your actions.

[00:07:52] Taking action in your life. In ways that help other people that serve other people that is virtue next week's [00:08:00] episode. I'm going to talk about practicing virtue because it's important to counter these two things and look at them. Side-by-side. And we must live with virtue. If we are to do something different than this.

[00:08:11] But the challenge is, was signaling virtue. Is it's predicated on social power. That's all external power. And this whole show order within is about the internal power that we hold and keep, because that's where all power comes from. That's where all energy comes from. Cause and effect starts with the cause.

[00:08:30] That is the spiritual energetic component of life. Everything in the physical world is born of that spiritual source. Everything is energy. Now this is again. Modern science has shown us this. This is not just. Made up stuff. We can look at quantum physics to realize that the entirety of the world that we live in is actually energy and light moving around at crazy levels.

[00:08:53] But we're experiencing the physical nature. Of though of that light and energy, but that is the world [00:09:00] that we live in. But the world of virtue signaling and the world that's growing up around us is all built on external power, social power. And that's why there's so much. Control around narratives information.

[00:09:14] And now virtue signaling, signaling the groups that you're conforming to. And the challenge of this is, is that there are a lot of psychological factors that contribute to fake virtue signaling and that's desire for social acceptance and the fear of criticism. So what that does is that creates more conformity because of.

[00:09:33] If you don't conform to the group to the tribe, there are consequences a lot of times, and this is where our. Roots. Our ancestry. Really layers into this fear that leaders leverage that media companies leverage knowing this because the fear of not being accepted of being pushed out of the tribe has tangible problems and it still does today, but it was more so directly. It felt. [00:10:00]

[00:10:00] Long ago when we lived in. Small bands of tribes. If you went against the tribe, you could be ostracized or removed, and now you're out in the world on your own. And that was a very dangerous place to be. Throughout history throughout human history. Until the modern age that we've lived in with technology in the industrial age. And.

[00:10:18] Crime dropping all around the world in many places now, not all around the world, but historically crime has been going down. Life expectancy has been going up all the standards with which we measure quality of life has been improving. But because of that leveraging the fear that we have as social animals of being ostracized.

[00:10:39] Conformity and living in authentic lives can be very powerful because there are still consequences for not conforming. So leaders. The hidden masters, if you will, whatever you want to call them. The powers that be, can leverage that psychological factor that comes into play to, to force us into conforming into things that we don't [00:11:00] want. And virtue signaling is another piece of that.

[00:11:03] And so now looking at that, so thinking about that from a high level perspective is there's an inherent need for us to be accepted and. Uh, part of the tribe. So virtue signaling comes from a basic need that we have the wanting to share who we are, what we are and who we connect with. But that need.

[00:11:24] Is being manipulated. And use as a power play to enforce certain beliefs and ideologies on culture, on people. And to create conformity. And for those that don't conform, there's all these consequences. Now there's all these name calling. You're ostracized. You could lose your job. You're banned from social media, your family and friends criticize you and ostracize you because of something that you may think or believe.

[00:11:50] And often it's incorrect. Anyway, that's the danger of this too, is it's never really looked at it in a critical lens.

[00:11:56] It's only built from a power perspective.[00:12:00]

[00:12:00] But the harmful effects of fate virtue signaling. And it impacts individuals, relationships and society as a whole. That's the challenge here.

[00:12:11] What we're in now is a culture of performative activism. And that's what I mean when I talk about authenticity over performance. It's also encouraging superficial reality and division. So performative activism is becoming very problematic. And I have a few studies that I want to talk about. For example, there's research has shown that performative activism often leads to slacktivism where people feel they've done their part by simply sharing a post and don't take further action.

[00:12:41] As an example. The Ukraine war that's happening right now between Russia and Ukraine and many of the Western powers at this point, indirectly through Ukraine. Instead of being involved in that or learning about that, you're getting all your information from the mainstream media, the corporate media, and someone [00:13:00] will put up a

[00:13:00] Ukraine flag on their social media. Or share a post about it. That doesn't, sure. It may bring awareness to the war, but most people are aware of that war happening right now. It doesn't change anything that's actually happening on the ground or to the people of Ukraine or Russia at this point.

[00:13:18] It makes no difference whether you place a flag in your social profile or not to the people that are in that war. That type of thing. It's happening all over the place. And it's replacing true activism by being socially active by posting stuff on your social media. It's taking the place of real activism. So that's a huge.

[00:13:40] Problem that we're finding with social media. And how it's influencing our behavior. Is that people think that signaling their virtue is simply enough as opposed to not taking genuine action.

[00:13:52] Another study. Or research project that was done is auth. [00:14:00] Authenticity and political discourse. By B Jones. Now this article discusses the value of authenticity and political discourse and argues that it is a virtue. For representative democracy. It also explores the psychological mechanisms behind hypocrisy and suggest that public criticism is a sensible response for trying to limit political hypocrisy.

[00:14:24] So B Jones and a few others are making the argument that it's important that. Politics and politicians are authentic. They need to be true to who they are, because there are many people in Paul and in the political world argue against that. They're saying that they have to present themselves in certain ways, or they can only talk about topics in certain ways.

[00:14:46] But. Being authentic is critical because if you take a position. Publicly or you, and you don't hold that position privately, or you switched that position or whatever it may be. And you are. Are never authentic to [00:15:00] who. You truly are and what you genuinely believe, how can supporters actually vote for you if they don't know what your true intentions are? How can they truly support you? If what you hold publicly is not what you hold privately.

[00:15:13] They're all sorts of problems that come from. This public and private life. Type living in the political sphere. So being authentic to who we are, whether it's as a public figure or not, it's critical to understand what's happening around us and gives us a chance to genuinely debate and share ideas when we're being authentic to open up the dialogue and have honest conversations.

[00:15:38] With. Authenticity at the core of that politics and our world needs authenticity without on-page authenticity, we are in trouble. Y'all. We are in trouble.

[00:15:51] Another article. That talks about linking ESG metrics. To executive compensation. [00:16:00]

[00:16:00] So virtual signaling it's called virtue signaling or paying for impact. It's a panel discussion hosted by the conference board ESG center. And ESG stands for environmental, social and governance factors. The panel is to our seasoned experts from Microsoft, similar and T Rowe price, discuss whether when and how companies should link executive pay.

[00:16:27] To ESG factors. This could be relevant. So this is relevant because what they're doing is they're now tying this stuff to compensation packages. So what is that going to do if you're an executive and you want to make more money? You're going to find ways to potentially. Juice that you may signal that you are caring about the environment or social issues or governance issues. But the reality is that your motivation may be increasing your own executive compensation. You may not try, and you may not be trying to [00:17:00] actually genuinely change the world or make an impact into these.

[00:17:04] Initiatives. Or nonprofit groups that you may be supporting supposedly, if you're tying all that to compensation. Then it's going to create a dysfunction there. That's not about actually helping those communities or helping those causes, but more so about self enrichment.

[00:17:23] And that self enrichment piece is a huge problem. If we're not being genuine, you want to align those two things where. And in this instance, maybe that's the case, but what you're starting to see is that. These things are being done in a dishonest way. Presenting these, this information, these studies or these groups, or these causes that you may be supporting as a company.

[00:17:47] But you're not actually treating people any differently. You're not doing things differently from the environmental perspective. You may only be doing certain things that the government requires you to do to simply stay in accordance with what they're asking [00:18:00] you, but you're not doing it in a genuine way.

[00:18:02] And that can create a lot of dysfunction. If all this is built around compensation, then it's going to create dishonesty in the way that we're functioning as a culture in a society.

[00:18:14] I'm not a huge fan of companies.

[00:18:18] That blast all these different social causes all over the place. That's outside of their purpose. Their main purpose as a company, which is to produce a product or service. I think in my mind, companies. Do that thing. And allow nonprofits and communities and individuals to support other initiatives or goals if they want to, if they want to maybe donate money to certain groups, that's one thing. But if you start having all these specific initiatives within for-profit companies,

[00:18:48] It's just going to create more confusion. In more blurred lines between what's actually happening in the world and what's not. And when you have for profit companies doing this and you're [00:19:00] tying it to compensation, it's just a bad ground. It's a vital it's a space that will create corruption. It's a.

[00:19:10] It's a breeding ground for corruption. That's what it is. A breeding ground for corruption.

[00:19:18] Another study. And the impact of fakes virtually signaling on N on genuine efforts for positive change in the erosion of trust within our communities. So Americans and cancel culture. Where some CS calls for accountability, other C censorship punishment. At censorship as punishment. So there. The pew research center.

[00:19:44] Explores, they did a report that explores how the us public views, the concept of cancel culture. Which is often associated with virtual signaling. The report finds a public deeply divided. Including over the very meaning of the [00:20:00] phrase. Even the very phrase, cancel culture. Isn't something that we can agree on.

[00:20:04] So it's useful to understand this because what this study points do is just how deeply you divided. We are on almost everything. And again, this is predicated from this desire to, to virtue signal, to promote, people see it as all I'm going out and I'm reporting people who use hate terms or use words that I don't like, or this person's wrong because of their position. And I'm going to report them.

[00:20:29] To this company. Or I'm going to report them or block them or ban them or whatever, because they don't, they're saying something that I don't like, the problem is doing this stuff. Canceling. Everybody just creates a whole culture of cancel where if you disagree with someone or you don't like what someone's saying, you can just go out and cancel, get them canceled, create this whole movement.

[00:20:48] To have everybody go against them. That's a very. Dangerous society and culture to create. It's basically pitting all of us against one another. And if [00:21:00] someone simply doesn't agree with your position or has a different perspective on the world, that gives them the right to go out and cancel and make all this effort and energy around you and what you're doing.

[00:21:10] All it does is incentivize bad behavior. Just this tattling culture where we're just running around. And fighting with each other over the silliest things. That's what's happening though. This type of behavior is being incentivized. People feel like that's activism by going online and canceling people are calling them out.

[00:21:33] Or saying things to them. That's what's happening, but that erodes at our trust in our communities. It erodes away at the trust in our communities. It gets rid of connection and it only enhances division. And anger. And attacks from everyone. These are the types of things that can come from this whole signaling of virtue, [00:22:00] attacking people online, everyone seeing social media as a means to be active and being an activist by calling people out.

[00:22:09] All it's really doing is just judging one another and dividing each other though. Very little of this. The amazing thing is the awareness that gets brought to attention gets brought to issues is incredible from social media, but the way we treat one another, the divisiveness that it creates and the anger.

[00:22:25] And the vitriol that's created from this activity.

[00:22:30] That in and of itself is very detrimental to our trust, to our connection, to our communities.

[00:22:36] What ends up happening is often the more outwardly virtuous we are, the more we claim to be so virtuous through our social media and the. Causes that we support and all of this thing, the louder we are on social media, often the more ugly things are within our own selves. The more pain we're carrying, the more trauma we're carrying.

[00:22:58] Often the [00:23:00] more. Bad. We are to other humans. And the lack of kindness that we have to other people. And the worst we treat people the more. Oh outspoken. We are about our causes in the things that we believe in. We're often are the worst to each other in the most regular, ordinary ways. And I'll give you an example of that.

[00:23:20] Last week.

[00:23:23] We were driving.

[00:23:26] It was me, my wife and my daughter in the car. And we were going to the park. We're going to go enjoy the weather before it got too hot on the weekend.

[00:23:34] And as we were out driving, we were driving to hop on the freeway. Uh, car comes blazing up behind us. They're probably going twice. The speed limit. It was maybe not that high. It was a 45. Speed limit. They were going at least 15 to 20 over at least. And they swerved around us, but in between two cars to pass us, barely missing us, almost rear ended [00:24:00] us.

[00:24:01] And almost hit the car beside us. So they spun. Sped up through us. They sped ahead. And ran a red light. To get through that red light and then w so my wife was like, actually, let's follow them. What are they doing? Cause I was angry. I'm. I was mad because they almost hit us. I was angry. They're driving like lunatics. It's very dangerous. Endangering other people.

[00:24:25] And so we follow them and they pull into the gas station. And I regret not saying anything. This is something for me that I'm in the future. I'm going to start doing this stuff because it's not the same as calling somebody out and social media and being in a safe distance, but being person to person human to human face-to-face is very different. And that's what I want to see us do is being more interactive and honest and authentic in our engagements with individuals.

[00:24:50] And so this guy pulls up, he and he pulls into the gas station. He's not some, he doesn't have some emergency. He's not going to the hospital. He doesn't have anything like that. He just gets out of his [00:25:00] car and starts pumping gas, like nothing's happening. So a younger guy. And we pull up, my wife takes a picture of his license plate because we're considering, well, maybe something happened with Geillis.

[00:25:11] And just make sure we have that information just in case. And we pull up, we take a picture of his license. And sure enough, he's got a Ukraine flag posted like that. He printed out and stuck in his back windshield. And for me, that was it. It just pushed me over the edge and I wish I had said something. I regret not saying something.

[00:25:31] Because there's a prime example of dude, you can support Ukraine. You can show your support for your crane. But you can be terrible to your fellow citizens here, right in front of you, right around in your community. And that's what I'm talking about. This person thinks that posting a, putting a flag in their car and showing their support for Ukraine.

[00:25:51] Is all that they need to do to be a good person, instead of being kind to other people, instead of being respectful to people on the road, instead of honoring basic [00:26:00] traffic laws. They're putting people in danger. They're not considering anyone else they could have. Rear-ended us. I have a two year old in the backseat of my car. They don't care about that. The only thing that they cared about was getting to where they wanted to be, regardless of what a meant to anyone else, they're going to break laws.

[00:26:16] They're going to drive recklessly and dangerously. And they're going to go and get what they need. That's the con that's the type of thinking though, that happens. People want to put stuff in their car, put stuff on social media, put flags in their yard, but they want to treat their neighbors like crap. They don't want to be considerate and respectful to people around them, in their communities.

[00:26:35] That type of behaving is dangerous. And that's what this culture. Is creating that we're living in. This inauthenticity of being, I don't care how many flags you have or social media things you do, or hashtags you support. If you're a Dick to people around you. And you're not kind individuals that you're interacting with on a day-to-day basis, everything that you [00:27:00] do on social media and whatever else is void.

[00:27:04] Because if you can't be kind to someone, I don't care what you have to say. If you can't respect one another and be genuinely kind to other humans and respect one another at a human level, I don't give a crap about your positions, your values. Because you're not living true to who you are. You're not being kind to other people. You're not living authentically. You're not being virtuous because virtue is something that you do, not something that you say.

[00:27:30] And that's what this culture has created is it creates a concept of virtues as a saying, as a thing, as an image, not as action, not as a way to live, not as a way to. Live with discipline and honor and integrity. It's very different.

[00:27:50] But the counter to this is authenticity and that's why authenticity is so critical. That's why being truthful to who we are. [00:28:00] Promoting genuine positive change. And that comes through action. Aligning our values. Our words are. Our minds, our thoughts with our actions. That's why introspection self-awareness and genuine actions align with our values are so critical. This is how we live authentically. If you claim to care about the Ukraine war and the people of Ukraine.

[00:28:21] Then, please. Treat your neighbors with respect, be mindful of people around you, be kind to the people in your community. Be mindful of that when you're driving around like a maniac, it doesn't matter. If you say you're for or against a thing. If you can't treat each other with respect, if you can't be kind on a day-to-day basis. So being genuine in our actions,

[00:28:44] Being reflective of who we are being aware of the fact that if we're going to be mean and rude and inconsiderate to other people, Who were in our general vicinity. And maybe we shouldn't talk about virtue and care [00:29:00] and what's happening around the world. If we can't even honor our own communities, our own selves and our own people around us, it's nonsense.

[00:29:07] So you have to be genuine in your actions. You have to align your actions with your values, and you have to reflect on who we are and look at ourselves and look at our actions and look at the way we're behaving. We don't get to pick and choose the people that we want to be kind to, and the people that we don't in that sense.

[00:29:25] That makes us hypocrites. And that's also all the terrible things that have ever been done throughout society and throughout human history have been because select groups said that there are certain groups that are bad and certain groups that are good. If you're placing certain people in good and bad categories, you're part of the problem.

[00:29:43] That's just that's really what it is. If you're viewing the entirety of humanity and you're putting them in boxes, and you're saying that group is bad, that group is good. This group is virtuous. This group needs to be destroyed. You're part of the problem, man. Because every [00:30:00] terrible thing throughout history has been achieved through that way.

[00:30:04] By declaring the enemy outside. And saying we are the ones that are right. We are the ones who have the moral high ground and we will do whatever it takes. To ensure that the moral high ground has held. All the tyranny throughout human history has been perpetuated by that lie. That we are doing good. That what we're doing is right, and that the others are wrong.

[00:30:26] And we're enforcing our will on to other people because we are right and they are wrong. And that justifies whatever terrible means we justify. That's the lie. And so many of us are living that lie. Because we think it feels good or we think we're on the right side of history, or we think we're a part of the right group, the in group. And that enables us to do what we decide is correct.

[00:30:51] That's a power play. Y'all that's all it is. It's a will to power disguised as doing good. And that's why I hate it. [00:31:00] Because it's only a power play.

[00:31:03] That's what it is. It comes down to a power play. You just want to be empowered. At least be honest about it. You just want to be the one in power.

[00:31:12] But you can be authentic in your virtue in that comes through living your actions, living true to who you are. Being kind to other people, treating people with respect. Being good in your communities. Especially the people you don't agree with, especially the people that you think are wrong. Real virtue is being kind and compassionate to those people.

[00:31:36] That's true virtue takes discipline and effort. And to care for people that you don't agree with. To look out for people that you think are wrong. That is the essence of true virtue.

[00:31:51] And that is how we counteract fake virtue.

[00:31:56] Bye. Critical thinking by thinking deeply on [00:32:00] topics, by looking at ourselves, our actions, our thoughts, our minds, are they aligned? Am I kind to my neighbor? Am I. Rude to people online. But I'm claiming to be virtuous. Do I live true to who I am? Am I kind to, everyone that I interact with now sometimes.

[00:32:19] We can't always be that way when people are being aggressive or mean, or physical or angry or dangerous. That's not what I'm talking about here. Those are outside circumstances though. I'm talking about the day to day stuff. When we interact with people that we may not have the same beliefs around or the same views.

[00:32:37] Uh, basic dignity and decency that we offer one another because we exist because we are a family. We are a human family. You don't have to believe. Any of the spiritual things, but it's going to make it hard if you don't, but we are a human family. We all exist on this planet together.

[00:32:56] That is indisputable. So there is a connection between all of us because [00:33:00] of that. We need to honor that and look at that, that enables us to do right. That enables us to treat one another with kindness and care.

[00:33:09] So we have to think critically. We have to observe ourselves. We have to question our motivations.

[00:33:17] And we have to look beyond surface level actions. A surface level action is putting a flag in your profile, putting a flag in your car. Putting a bumper sticker up, putting a flag in your yard, using a hashtag. That's surface level actions, but being kind to someone that you disagree with. And listening to them and caring for them and helping them out because they need something or they're in a tough situation.

[00:33:41] Are there, you're giving them the decency of human respect and care because they are fellow human, regardless of what their position is. That is deep level action. That is virtue. That is care. Accepting someone as they are, even if you disagree with them, if you want to be a kind and [00:34:00] caring person, surround yourself with people that you don't agree with.

[00:34:03] Don't surround necessarily, but be around people that you don't agree with and listen to them, hear them out. Hear their perspectives. Hear their why's. That is how you change.

[00:34:15] That's why empathy, genuine connection and sincere efforts. Are the crucial piece.

[00:34:22] And we do that by living the change that we wish to see, we align our actions and our thoughts. We live the change in the world that we wish to see be the change that you wish to see Miguel. Gandhi said that Mahatma Gandhi said that. It's probably been over a hundred years ago now. But be the change we wish to see in the world is the only way to create lasting change because we're living by example, live by example.

[00:34:48] We have to match our words with our actions, align those two. If they are not aligned, then we are not living true to who we are. We are living a double life.

[00:34:59] Match your [00:35:00] private and public lives. Ensure that our values that are both private and public are aligned. Don't live two different versions. That's not authentic. That's also split and that's going to be very painful over time. It's fulfillment and happiness will be impossible in that scenario.

[00:35:19] So we have to live the change we wish to see, we have to match our words with our actions. We have to align our private and public values. And we set the example by being the example lead by example, that's the only way to Alfre lasting change. Be that change that we wish to see in the world. I know that virtue signaling can make people feel good and it helps us to feel safe as a part of the tribe.

[00:35:43] But if we really want to evolve and move beyond that, we have to align from within, we have to find the power within ourselves. To align with the values that we resonate with. We have to have the courage to follow them. And we have to have the courage to live true to those [00:36:00] values and align our values with our actions. That's the way we create lasting change in the world. And that's how we overcome the toxic nature.

[00:36:08] Of fake virtue signaling. Now next week, I'm going to be doing an episode on the practice of virtue. I'm really excited about that. Diving deep in, on being a virtuous person. What does that even mean? How do we do that? What does that look like? It's important that we set those standards and we live true to a higher quality of life so that we can elevate this planet.

[00:36:28] And raise our frequency in a way that aligns with the nature of who we are, which is eternal, loving, infinite beings. That's what we are. Y'all. And I'm going to. I'm going to continue to share that message. For the rest of my days on this planet, because I believe deeply at the core to who I am. That's what it's about. And not just me. There are many other people that feel this way.

[00:36:47] So I really appreciate y'all's ears and your time. I hope you're enjoying the show. I encourage you to cultivate authenticity in your actions, your words and your intentions. This is how we promote genuine positive [00:37:00] change. If we want to create a society based on honesty, empathy, and sincere efforts for the betterment of all, it has to come through genuine authenticity and action from our own lives. That's the key, yo.

[00:37:16] So that's all I've got for today's show. You can hit me up on Twitter at Brandon Lee ward. You can hit me on LinkedIn and Brandon L. Ward. You can check out my. Obviously my podcast here at order within dot sub stack. dot com. If you want to get direct.

[00:37:32] Episodes to your inbox and a little additional things that I provide there too. There's.

[00:37:38] We've got some transcripts for each podcast. Episode is on my order within, so you can check that out on my sub stack. I also have Brandon Lee ward.com. If you want to reach out to me that way too, I've got a bunch of content on that side as well. I'm going to be doing a makeover for that as my.

[00:37:50] Uh, career has shifted a bit here over the last few months, and I'm really excited about things are moving along very well on that side. So I sure do appreciate y'all's time. [00:38:00] And I hope you had a great. 4th of July this week. And with that being said until next time y'all.

[00:38:08] Thank you for listening to Order Within. If you found the episode helpful, please consider sharing, rating, and subscribing. New episodes will be released every Thursday at 11am Eastern Standard Time. Until next time, y'all.