Dark and Light Forces

An oscillating pattern that shapes our movement.

The opening episode of the three-part docuseries titled, “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” is called “Pain vs Love.”

In it, Kirk Burrowes (Co-Founder of Bad Boy Entertainment), says this:

“I know people shaped by pain as well as by love, and if it was more pain than love ... watch out.”

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Andre Agassi (8-time Men’s Singles Grand Slam Champion) has openly talked and written about hating tennis.

In an incredible interview he did with Andy Roddick, he says this:

“You can be motivated through two things in your life, fear or love, and it was fear that was driving me.”

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What these quotes are pointing to is a state that we all find ourselves oscillating between.

My favourite phrasing of this is dark force and light force motivation.

Pain, fear, greed, envy, and their equivalents are all dark forces.

The light forces are things like love, creativity, joy, and interest.

Being driven by these forces feels different and our bodies give us clear signals about which force is driving us at any given time.

Dark forces have a tight grip. They add tension to our minds and bodies. They make us see the world through a lens of scarcity.

A light force loosens our grip. It helps us to see the abundance and to see with abundance.

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Both of these forces can drive us far in life, but there’s one key difference between them.

I said it earlier. Dark forces add tension. Light forces remove tension.

All things being equal, if two people end up at the same place, the person driven by light forces will be lighter when they arrive.

The beauty of these forces is how they scale in shaping our decisions.

In a given day, we may be motivated by one or the other multiple times, and we also may have an overarching force guiding our entire year.

If you want a simple test to know which of the two is driving you right now, just ask yourself this question:

Are you moving toward something or away from something?

Toward is light. Away from is dark.