Unlock Authentic Growth By Embracing Your Inner Rascal

In this engaging talk, we explore the concept of "irreducible rascality," a playful and mischievous part of human nature that can’t be eliminated or controlled. We’ll discuss why recognizing and embracing your inner rascal is essential for personal growth, creativity, and authenticity. Discover how this awareness can help you avoid self-righteousness, foster humility, and lead a more grounded and trustworthy life, all while navigating life's chaos with humor and ease.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this talk on the element of irreducible rascality.

I'm quite excited to talk about this particular principle or idea because it is one that,

Safe to say,

Comes pretty naturally to me as an idea.

But yes,

I first came across this in listening to my beloved Alan Watts,

Of whom I'm a great fan and admirer.

So let's get into it.

Let's talk about what does it mean to be a rascal and why this principle or this concept can be useful to you.

One of the key things about this,

Although I actually see it as a very useful antidote to basically becoming overly virtuous or overly self-righteous or even potentially arrogant.

Let me explain what I mean by this.

Basically,

If you are aware of the part of yourself,

Your own mischievous nature,

Your own rascality,

Then that keeps you cut down to size.

You don't get too big for your boots thinking you're holier than thou or some kind of saint because you can be a good person and you can act virtuously in the world and that's all great stuff.

But you know,

You know that inside you're a bit of a rascal,

Basically.

But many of those kind of people consciously pursuing the spiritual path and as it happens I think that everyone,

Everyone in my opinion is on a spiritual path,

It's just some people don't know about it.

But those of us who consciously pursue spirituality in some way,

One of the many traps you can fall into is this idea that,

You know,

Look at me,

I'm so great and spiritual unlike the unwashed masses,

The deeply unconscious,

The muggles,

The NPCs,

So to speak.

But yeah,

If you're aware that part of yourself is just this mischievous rascal nature you have,

That kind of keeps you in check in terms of your potential arrogance,

Which is great.

And one of the reasons I think it's great about this actually is that someone who is aware of themself as a rascal to an extent is actually a more trustworthy person than one who isn't,

Right?

Which sounds weird.

What do you mean?

Is this rascally person is more trustworthy than the person just striving purely to be good all of the time?

And it's because the people who are convinced of themselves as being virtuous and righteous and unaware of their own rascality,

They're projecting the self-image which they can't necessarily live up to.

So you ask them,

Could you do this?

Could you do that?

And they're going to behave in ways that present themselves in the best possible light,

In the most kind of saintly interpretation.

The difficulty of which is that it's pretty unlikely that they're actually a saint.

So you know,

You form this expectation you can't possibly live up to,

Whereas someone aware of their rascal nature is on the other hand going to behave in ways that don't reflect them being a saint.

So you can trust them because they are aware of this part of themselves.

They're not going to pretend to be a saint because they know they aren't one,

Which is wonderful.

But I'm rambling a bit,

So let's get back to the strict structure of the talk and just define what it means to be an irreducible rascal or to be aware of that aspect of yourself.

So this irreducible rascality,

It's the playful,

Mischievous and unpredictable part of human nature that cannot be transcended or eradicated.

In Watts' teachings on this,

You have this idea that rascality is basically a core part of existence,

Both in life and within ourselves.

He saw the universe as having inherently a kind of playful and mischievous quality to it,

Which is related to his interest in Zen,

I would expect.

But yeah,

What does it mean to be a rascal?

Talking about embracing the aspects of yourself that are untamed,

Spontaneous and imperfect,

Rascal is essentially someone who's not necessarily always going to defer to the rules or expectations of how one quote-unquote should behave.

I love this one in terms of trust,

Because it's like,

I can't necessarily trust this person to always conform to what the thing is that he should or she should or shouldn't do based upon societal expectation or social convention.

But I can trust them more as an individual,

Because they're more authentic and honest in how they present themselves to the world in a way.

It's interesting to look at this actually in terms of the Jungian ideas around the shadow,

The kind of shadow side,

Because a lot of people will I think suppress or repress their own rascal nature,

Because that's not necessarily good things.

I'm a good person,

I'm not a rascal,

I'm very well behaved and polite and virtuous and oriented towards the common good,

Where some of the key features of mischievous and rascal behavior are a more honest approach to one's own self-interest.

But this rascality doesn't mean it's necessarily inherently evil or destructive,

It's more kind of playful,

Mischievous,

Creative.

It tends to challenge order in a healthy way.

So that's kind of what it is to be a rascal.

I don't know if we all know what it is to be a rascal,

But I thought I'd give a little definition just so we're all on the same page and what we're talking about here.

It's as if words are not used often enough in my opinion,

Rascal.

When did you last hear someone call someone else a rascal?

And was it an insult or a compliment or a bit of both?

Interesting question.

But yeah,

So why is this irreducible?

Why is it intrinsic?

What if someone just isn't very rascally?

What are you talking about here?

And the idea is that kind of life is itself just full of unpredictability and chaos and paradox and in some way our nature mirrors this.

So the kind of attempt to sort of rigidly control or perfect ourselves could be considered in some ways unnatural.

And I think this ties into interesting ideas that Jung had about the goal is basically is completeness or wholeness,

Not necessarily quote-unquote perfection.

And it's just that this rascality is part of that wholeness.

And one point I want to get on to,

Which I might come back to later,

Is this idea that I want to emphasize that our understanding of our rascal or our rascality doesn't necessarily mean we have to go around and be totally mischievous all of the time.

I think the key part is to just be aware that this is a part of you,

Right?

I think,

You know,

You could express your rascality,

I don't want to say too much,

But all of the time.

I'm not talking about being a total rogue all of the time.

It's,

In my opinion,

It's having that as an integrated part of yourself.

It's being aware of that part and able to access that part of you rather than necessarily having it on 100% all the time.

But that's just my interpretation.

So the idea is that true growth and authenticity even comes from accepting and integrating this rascality,

Which allows us to live with greater freedom,

Creativity,

And wholeness.

And yeah,

Coming back to that point I mentioned in the start,

The difference between those who acknowledge their rascality and those who don't,

If you're aware of your own element of irreducible rascality,

Such a wonderful phrase,

If you're aware of it though,

You can embrace your imperfections and that,

You know,

Makes you more authentic and playful and gives you this light-hearted approach to life.

You're quite capable of laughing at yourself and adapting to life's unpredictability.

But if you're not aware of this part of yourself,

There's every possibility you might try and repress or deny this part of yourself and it can lead to this kind of rigidity,

The self-righteousness,

The frustration when things don't go as planned,

Things aren't going as they're supposed to,

There's a way things are supposed to be,

And this isn't it,

And I'm terribly upset about this,

As opposed to the rascal's way of looking at things,

Which it would be a little different.

So it's the awareness of this rascality that allows for a greater self-compassion and integration,

Whereas denial tends to lead to internal conflict or dissonance and a connection from your true nature,

And I do really think that this principle is amazing as an antidote to self-righteousness and to arrogance.

It's recognizing and embracing your rascality that prevents the development of that overly self-righteous or arrogant attitude which stems from trying to project a perfect or better-than self-image.

On the contrary,

It accepts your imperfections,

Your contradictions,

And you become more humble,

Relatable,

And I think it's ironically trustworthy.

It's like the rascal's kind of trustworthy,

He's predictably,

You can rely on him to be himself with a certain predictable element of him being a bit of a rascal or her,

Right?

As opposed to someone trying to behave like a saint who is inevitably not going to be able to follow through,

Except of course in the very rare occasion they are in fact a saint,

But I think that's an outlier,

Shall we say.

So it's the understanding of this element of irreducible rascality that makes you more authentic because you're not pretending to be flawless or morally superior,

Instead you come across as a grounded person who acknowledges the full spectrum of human nature.

And it's helpful for personal growth to do this because if we can embrace the imperfection and cultivate creativity and foster resilience,

Because we're navigating life's chaos with a certain degree of humor and ease,

You've got more self-awareness,

More authenticity,

More compassion towards yourself and others,

Making you a more reliable,

Trustworthy,

And genuine presence in the world.

So I want to speak about irreducible rascality explicitly in regards to our own personal growth and development,

Because in the realm of self-development we often encounter a variety of ideals that emphasize the attainment of wisdom and virtue and personal mastery,

Which are all great things,

And we're encouraged to strive for the noble,

The enlightened,

And the disciplined aspects of ourselves,

Often in pursuit of inner peace or fulfillment.

But an essential element often overlooked is this element of irreducible rascality.

And you know,

Like I said before,

It refers to the inherent mischievousness,

The unpredictability,

And some shadowy elements within the human psyche that cannot be eradicated or transcended,

Because it's intrinsically a part of you.

So Watts uses it to describe the playful and chaotic aspect of life and self,

But this is seen as a kind of necessary counterbalance to our strivings for order and perfection.

I really like this idea of it being a necessary counterbalance to our strivings for order and perfection.

It's not that order and perfection are necessarily wrong,

But I think that if you're,

You know,

All about order and perfection and you've got nothing else to do,

And you've got no time for play and a bit of chaos,

Then you're going to be very one-sided,

Kind of stilted in your development.

So it's the other side of the coin in terms of trying to become more whole,

More complete.

I think understanding and integrating this rascality within ourselves is vital for personal growth,

Because it invites authenticity,

It fosters creativity,

And enables a much more holistic view of self-mastery.

I think most important,

I think it's really key for authenticity in particular,

You have the irreducible rasc.

.

.

I love just saying it,

Irreducible rascality is such a great term,

But it represents the part of ourselves that are,

Yeah,

Untamed,

Spontaneous,

A bit wild,

Includes our impulses,

Desires,

Contradictions,

Imperfections,

Which are qualities that we're often taught to suppress or ignore.

But I think in order to grow personally,

It's essential to confront and embrace these facets of ourselves,

Rather than deny or avoid them.

The idea of irreducible rascality encourages us to drop the masks of perfection that we wear,

And instead it invites us to accept the inherent messiness of being human.

Authenticity arises when we stop trying to fit into societal molds of the ideal self,

And instead accepting our full range of emotions and experiences,

Even the uncomfortable ones,

Perhaps even especially the uncomfortable ones.

That kind of acceptance tends to lead to or foster deeper self-awareness,

Right?

Instead of presenting a curated image of who we think we should be,

We allow our true nature to come through complete with contradictions and quirks.

Authenticity,

Essential to personal growth because it provides the foundation for genuine relationships with ourselves and others,

Allows us to explore in an open and a more honest way our own strengths,

And enables us to grow without being shackled by that irritating need to appear flawless.

I don't know you guys,

I sometimes have struggled with perfectionism.

I feel like the understanding of my own rascality is quite a good antidote to my own perfectionism at times.

It's like,

Oh I'm trying to make this thing,

It's going to be perfect.

Oh Mark,

You're a bit of a rascal.

It's all right if it's not quite perfect,

Let's just get it done.

Come on,

You know you want to go play.

So yeah,

Actually speaking of which,

Sparking creativity and play.

I think at its core,

Irreducible rascality is about playfulness.

It is,

It's that mischievous unpredictable aspect of ourselves that just wants to bark against rigid structure and routine.

Again,

There are great benefits to rigid structure and routine,

It's just we don't want to be 100% rigid structure and routine,

Right?

We want to acknowledge that part of ourselves that says,

To hell with your routine,

I'm going to go and play.

So while traditional approaches to personal growth often emphasize discipline and seriousness,

The integration of our rascality opens the door to spontaneity,

Creativity,

Joy.

And by embracing our playful side,

We create space for new ideas and ways of thinking to emerge.

And I think personal development doesn't have to always be,

I'm not sure,

Maybe it can't be,

Maybe it can be,

But it definitely doesn't always have to be a linear or prescribed path,

Right?

Sometimes true growth can really occur when we take a break from our self-imposed expectations,

And instead,

We can allow ourselves to explore and experiment and make mistakes.

I think that's a more natural way of learning,

Really.

I think in a way,

Mistakes are kind of the only thing you can learn from,

Although there is a certain key to learning about other people's mistakes,

Save you making the same ones,

But it's kind of only by getting it wrong a few times can we learn to get it right.

At least if we always get it right the first time,

You're going to be very fragile when you eventually get things wrong,

Because you are going to get some things wrong in your life.

I'm afraid there's no way around that.

Anyway,

So yeah,

Where was I?

I forgot what I was talking about.

Right,

Irreducible rascality.

I just love saying the words irreducible rascality.

It really trips off the tongue.

Irreducible rascality reminds us that the growth,

Our growth can come from unexpected places,

And you've got to be willing to follow the currents of life as they flow,

Rather than rigidly sticking to a predetermined plan.

We know that creativity in particular thrives in an environment of freedom and playfulness,

And when we integrate our rascality,

We give ourselves permission to experiment with life in ways that foster true innovation and self-expression.

I think I'm going to talk about this a little bit more in terms of the Jungian side.

I'm a big Alan Watts fan,

I'm a big fan of Carl Jung.

I don't know,

I think there's a parallel here between this irreducible rascality and the idea of the shadow and integrating the shadow and that whole Jungian shadow bit.

So Jung's concept of the shadow complements the Watts' irreducible rascality,

And I think this is because the shadow represents the aspects of ourselves that we repress,

Deny,

Or disown,

Often because they do not align with our ideal self-image.

So personal mastery requires us to face these shadow elements and integrate them,

Rather than pretending they don't exist,

Which is tempting but not a winning strategy all in all.

So irreducible rascality is,

It is about mischievous and playfulness,

But I'm going to say it's not just about mischievous and playfulness,

It also includes some of the kind of raw,

Untamed energies that lurk beneath the surface of our polished personas.

Going back to what I mentioned earlier,

The true self-mastery is not necessarily about perfection so much as about wholeness within ourselves,

And it's about bringing light,

The light of awareness,

Through our shadow,

Acknowledging our flaws and really integrating the parts of ourselves that we might consider undesirable.

When we embrace our rascality,

We accept that we are multi-faceted beings,

Capable of both virtue and vice,

Wisdom and folly.

This kind of more holistic view allows for deeper self-compassion really,

As we recognize that imperfection is not necessarily a flaw so much as an inherent part of the human experience.

So I think there's this parallel between the fact that rascality and the associated elements is something we often repress and a shadow,

As in some of what you repress in terms of your own rascal nature might show up in your shadow.

But if you integrate it,

This is to say become aware of and allow it and accept that part of yourself,

You can transform what you may have considered a kind of weakness or personal failing into sources of strength and resilience.

Instead of getting bogged down by guilt,

Shame,

Self-criticism at the kind of rascally parts of yourself,

You can instead become empowered by a more whole sense of our full humanity in a way.

And then yeah,

The self-mastery becomes less about conquering yourself and more about learning to dance with the different aspects of our nature,

Moving between structure and spontaneity,

Light,

Shadow,

Discipline,

Play.

I really like that idea in particular.

People really do approach personal elements as like a kind of conquering myself.

How am I going to win?

How am I going to beat myself into submission?

I'm going to make myself better.

Rather than,

Oh,

This is pretty cool.

I'm going to play with this and that and I'm going to learn and move through life in a rather more playful and enjoyable way than the,

I must be good and must be better,

Which is a kind of clenching in a way.

I think it's not as much fun.

I suppose I would think that.

Feel free to disagree by the way,

But it's interesting.

I'd say life itself obviously is full of paradoxes and if you're aware of that,

Again,

Irreducible rascality,

It helps us to navigate life's paradoxes with greater ease.

You're not striving for,

Well,

We often strive for clarity,

Control and certainty,

But life is inherently unpredictable and chaotic.

If we embrace our inner rascal,

We can develop a tolerance for ambiguity and perfection because we can laugh at ourselves and the absurdity of life.

We can cultivate that sense of humor and lightness that is,

I think,

Essential for our own resilience really.

Personal growth,

Again,

It's not about necessarily reaching a final state of enlightenment or perfect behavior,

But instead about learning to live with the fluid and dynamic nature of existence,

About adapting to life's fluctuations and maintaining a flexible attitude towards both ourselves and the world around us.

Irreducible rascality teaches us that life,

Like personal growth,

Is a dance between opposites,

Between seriousness and play,

Order and chaos,

Mastery and surrender.

So I think I'm going to start to wrap this up.

While I was trying my best to see how many times I could say irreducible rascality,

I'm going to come to my conclusion,

Which is that understanding and integrating irreducible rascality within ourselves is a vital part of personal growth.

It encourages authenticity,

Sparks creativity,

Fosters the integration of our shadow and helps us navigate the paradoxes and uncertainties of life with greater ease.

By acknowledging and embracing our inherent mischievousness and unpredictability,

We can develop a more holistic view of self-mastery,

One that values wholeness over perfection and playfulness over rigid control.

Ultimately,

It's in accepting our rascality that we can allow ourselves to grow more fully,

Freely and authentically into who we are meant to be,

In so far as we're meant to be anyone at all.

That's a separate comment.

Anyway,

In doing and undergoing this kind of,

Or in increasing our awareness of ourselves as a bit of a rascal,

We can shift this narrative of self-development from the kind of endless pursuit of needing to be better,

Which stems from not feeling like you're enough anyway,

Into a process of embracing the full spectrum of human experience,

Light and shadow,

Wisdom and folly,

Discipline and play.

So irreducible rascality reminds us that true growth is not about eradicating our imperfections but instead it's about learning to live harmoniously with them and perhaps even to allow ourselves to laugh at them along the way.

I hope you've enjoyed this talk,

I certainly have,

And yeah,

Have a lovely rest of your day and yeah,

Go forth and enjoy being a bit of a rascal.

Reviews

I loved this take and it introduced me to a phrase I've never heard before, irreducible rascality.

🙏🏽

Super cool! 💚🪷😊