By Joana & Neal
Why should I let go of having done something? Why should I not take the credit?
We’ve all felt it, that surge of pride when we accomplish something meaningful. Our ego wants recognition, wants to claim ownership of our successes. And once we achieve something, there’s this hunger for more. It becomes an endless treadmill: finish one project, immediately start planning the next bigger one. Get promoted, then worry about the next promotion. Accomplish a goal, then feel empty until we set an even loftier one.
This constant striving exists almost entirely in our heads; we’re competing with imaginary versions of ourselves, measuring our worth against arbitrary benchmarks that never quite satisfy us.
But what is true achievement?
Think about the accomplishments that genuinely matter to you. Not the ones that look good on your resume or social media, but the ones that created real, lasting change. Maybe it was mentoring someone who went on to help others. Perhaps it was a small act of kindness that rippled outward in ways you never saw. Or a creative work that touched people’s lives long after you finished it.
True achievement creates something that outlasts our personal satisfaction. It becomes a gift to the world rather than a trophy for our ego. It benefits not just us, but the larger web of life we’re all part of.
The Universe Within Us
Here’s where the concept gets profound: when we strip away our temporary concerns, our anxieties, our habitual ways of thinking, even our physical limitations, what remains is something much larger than our individual selves. Call it consciousness, call it the universe, call it the source of creativity and compassion that flows through all of us.
When we create from this deeper place, we’re not really “doing” anything in the ego-driven sense. We’re more like channels for something universal to express itself. Think of how the greatest artists, scientists, and humanitarians often describe their breakthroughs: “It came through me,” they say, or “I just got out of the way.”, or as Bob Dylan once said, “ I don’t write songs, I write them down.”
Beyond Personal Credit
If our most meaningful actions come from this universal source within us, then taking personal credit is like a river claiming to own the water flowing through it. The river is essential, it provides the channel, but the water comes from something much larger.
This doesn’t diminish our role. We’re still crucial participants. But we become instruments of something greater rather than isolated performers trying to build monuments to ourselves.
The Beauty of Selfless Action
When we act from this deeper place, something magical happens. We stop trying so hard to force outcomes for our personal benefit. Instead, we become more responsive to what the situation actually needs. Our actions become more natural, more flowing, more connected to the whole.
A parent caring for a sick child doesn’t think, “Look how great I am for doing this.” A friend listening to someone in pain doesn’t keep score. A teacher sharing knowledge isn’t calculating credit. In our most meaningful moments, we often forget ourselves entirely, and that’s when we’re most truly ourselves.
True Liberation
This isn’t about becoming passive or losing our drive. It’s about finding a different source of motivation, one that’s more sustainable, more joyful, and more connected to what really matters. When we’re not constantly protecting and promoting our ego, we have so much more energy available for actually creating positive change.
The irony is that when we stop grasping for personal achievement, we often accomplish more meaningful things than we ever did when we were trying so hard to succeed.
Living This Way
In practical terms, this means:
- Celebrating when good things happen through us, rather than obsessing over whether we get recognized
- Focusing on the work itself rather than the image of being someone who does good work
- Staying curious about what wants to emerge rather than forcing predetermined outcomes
- Finding joy in contributing to something larger than ourselves
Things begin to feel less forced and more natural. Solutions appear more easily. Creativity flows more freely. Relationships deepen. Life becomes less about accumulating victories and more about participating in the ongoing miracle of existence.
Gratitude for the Process
There’s profound freedom in learning to act from this universal place within ourselves, to create, to serve, to love without the heavy burden of constantly maintaining and defending our ego’s achievements.
When we discover this way of being, accomplishment becomes effortless not because nothing matters, but because everything does. We’re no longer separate individuals trying to grab our piece of success; we’re part of the creative force of life itself, expressing through our unique gifts and circumstances.
