Impulse Voices
Written by Roc Sherrell (BMTM Founder)
How might we rediscover the meaning and purpose of life, and restore a sense of worth and value to our days?
As we go about the business of navigating the world as competent adults, attending to the practical and responsible demands of daily life, the whispers of our childhood inclinations resound, calling to us like echoes from a distant past. They speak of a time when our desires were pure, unburdened by the expectations of others, and uncorrupted by the exigencies of the adult world. Yet they fade into the background, swallowed up by the rush of the present moment.
Abraham Maslow, the American psychologist most notably known for his creation of “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs”, suggested that the key to rediscovering the meaning and purpose of life lies in "recovering the power of experience," which is most often found in and through the childhood interests and inclinations that shaped and inspired us. It is within these whispers, which the sagacious Abraham Maslow christened ‘impulse voices’, that we may discover, if we but listen intently, the key to unlocking the meaning and purpose of our lives.
These impulse voices are deeply human and inherent to our nature. Each of us possesses a rich tapestry of childhood interests and inclinations, and we all have the capacity to reconnect with them and allow them to guide and inspire us once more.
As Robert Greene notes in his daily law, impulse voices offer a valuable opportunity to tap into our own authentic desires and interests, unclouded by the influence or expectations of others, “clear indications of an attraction that is not infected by the desires of other people.”
It is all too common for the interests and inclinations we develop during the course of our lives to be shaped and influenced by superficial connections and external factors, rather than reflecting our own authentic selves.
Our impulse voices stand in stark contrast to the cacophony of external persuasion that surrounds us. They are the pure, uncorrupted reflections of our unique chemistry. Unmarred by the influence of others, they speak to us from a place of profound authenticity, offering us a glimpse into the unvarnished truth of our being.
If we seek to uncover the lost luster of life, we might permit ourselves to be guided by the memories of our joyous experiences with the things and activities we were naturally pulled toward in our childhood.
"Undertake, my dear reader, a voyage into the recesses of your memory, and rediscover the treasures of your childhood's delight. For it is within these precious moments that the keys to your true self reside."
Impulse Voices
