3 month lurker, first time poster. This is out of my first OYS post, but there's a 1 day shadow ban on new accounts.

In reading NMMNG, one thing that stuck out to me was the “external attachments” piece in chapter 3. One that stuck out to me mod was “having a clean car.” The author goes on later to tell the story of Cal who liked to keep his car perfectly clean, believing that this was something that impressed people and made them like him. I also keep a clean car, but because I FUCKING HATE a messy car. I road rage enough, being in a messy car only amplifies that anxiety and my visceral reaction to it. So I vacuum my car out at least once a month, and generally like to keep it tidy for my own sanity.

My takeaway, and check for understanding, is this; I am doing this because I have determined that it is valuable to myself and my enjoyment of driving, not to impress anyone else who may see my car, and this is the distinction; I may be doing the same thing, X, as someone else who is doing X to seek the validation of others. It is not the act of X that is important, it is the motivation for doing X (that doing X brings me more value than leaving X undone) that is important, yes? I want to make sure I’m understanding the foundation of a me-centric frame and the motivations for doing what it is I am doing.