Start Here Daily Practice The Forge The Store
The Philosophy
Pillars Tenets Architects Declaration Lexicon FAQ
Home / Footing / CTL-VII-0061
CTL-VII-0061

“I got publicly praised and I stayed exactly the same person I was before.”

CTL · Pillar III — Control CTL-VII · Own Only What Is Yours.

The praise was loud and it would have been easy to start believing the inflated version of yourself. You didn't. You took the kind words, kept the true measure of your work, and went back to it unchanged. Owning only what is yours means not letting the applause rewrite who you are.

Your Practice

  1. Accept the praise graciously, then return to the actual work.
  2. Keep a true measure of what you did, neither inflated nor erased.
  3. Refuse to start performing the version they applauded.
  4. Go back to the desk the same person who sat down at it.

The Architects

“When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.”

— Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, ch. 9 (James Legge translation)

More under CTL-VII

CTL-VII-0001“I'm obsessing over something I can't control.”CTL-VII-0002“My anxiety is through the roof and I can't shut my brain off.”CTL-VII-0003“I stopped worrying about what people think and I feel lighter.”CTL-VII-0004“I let go of something I couldn't control and found peace.”CTL-VII-0005“I finally accepted that not everything is my responsibility.”CTL-VII-0006“Someone I trusted let me down badly.”
← Find Your Footing Tenet CTL-VII → The Codex →