1/11/2011 Are You a Lightworker or a Darkworker?

Are You a Lightworker or a

Darkworker?
March 8th, 2007 by Steve Pavlina Email this article to a friend
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Asking this question is like asking whether you’re a black belt in karate or jujitsu. Most
likely you are neither, since most people never make such a commitment in their entire
lives. Lightworkers and darkworkers combined probably account for less than 1% of the
population.

Becoming a lightworker or darkworker isn’t something that just happens to you. It’s a
conscious choice, one the vast majority of people never make.

You may have leanings towards one polarity or the other, and you can certainly
experiment with both polarities as much as you desire, but becoming a lightworker or
darkworker means making a special commitment to mastery of a single polarity.

What does it mean to polarize?

When you decide to polarize, you’re making a commitment to living a certain type of life.
It is similar to making a commitment to a particular field that takes a long time to master,
such as training for the Olympics, becoming a concert pianist, or becoming a grandmaster
at chess. You aren’t just going to wake up one day to discover that … oh yeah… you’re
a 10th degree black belt, nor will you suddenly wake up and realize you’re a lightworker
or a darkworker. Polarizing as a lightworker or darkworker is a huge long-term
commitment. It doesn’t just happen by itself in a flash of insight.

The decision to polarize is a decision you make with every fiber of your being. For some
people it may be a natural choice, felt as a type of calling. Others have to spend a lot of
time exploring both polarities to make the polarization commitment very consciously and

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deliberately. But most people never polarize.

If you polarize as a lightworker, you are dedicating your life to serving the greater good.

If you polarize as a darkworker, you are dedicating your life to serving yourself.

To use a Star Wars analogy, it is similar to deciding whether or not to become a Jedi or a
Sith. It should be rather obvious that most people never make this kind of commitment in
their entire lives. Hence, most people are neither lightworkers or darkworkers. The two
extremes of committing one’s life to serving the greater good or to serving one’s own self-
interest are not attractive to most people. It is simply not for them.

After you polarize, your polarity becomes the central focus of your life. You live and
breathe it every day. It almost becomes part of your DNA. It is impossible to
compartmentalize such a commitment. You can’t work at a menial job and do
lightworking or darkworking on the side. That’s like trying to be President of the USA
“on the side.” Being a lightworker or darkworker is a 24/7 deal, 365 days a year. It is
who you are, not merely what you do.

Those who haven’t polarized are free to experience both polarities, but at a much lower
level of intensity than either a lightworker or darkworker can. In fact, it’s of great benefit
to explore both polarities and understand how they work.

If you are a lightworker or darkworker, you will have zero doubt about it. That is by
definition. If you have any doubt about it, you haven’t polarized. This is as basic a thing
as knowing you’re a black belt in a certain martial art. If you have to ask the question,
you’re not a black belt. Either that or you have a really bad memory.

Why polarize?

The reason to polarize is because you’re ready to make a conscious commitment to a

certain type of life. You’re willing to devote your whole being either to serving the greater
good or to serving yourself. That commitment becomes your life purpose. It becomes the
very core of your identity. You are saying to the universe, “This is who I am.”

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When you make this commitment, you will know yourself on a level you’ve never known
yourself before. You will awaken every day knowing why you’re here, not because
someone told you why, but because you’ve defined your own why through the power of
conscious choice. Every moment of every day, you will know who you are and what you
are here to do.

Polarization bestows a new level of intensity, drive, and motivation. Problems and
obstacles that previously would have plagued you will seem like trivialities. When you set
a goal that aligns with your polarity, you’ll know — not hope – it will be accomplished.
Doing replaces trying. Consequently, you’ll expand the scope of your goals to match your
intensity. You’ll also greatly extend your timeline for considering the consequences of
your decisions, thinking 10, 20, 50 years ahead as a matter of course. Short-term
indulgences will be replaced by long-term commitments.

Just as there are degrees of mastery in any field, there are degrees of polarization. The
more polarized you become, the more you tap into your deepest levels of inner power.
Whether you are a darkworker or a lightworker, your source of power is always found
within. It is not a form of agency or positional power. You could be stripped of all your
worldly titles and possessions and still feel just as strong. As a lightworker your energy
flows outward. As a darkworker your energy flows inward. The source of this flow is
always inside you — centered within your consciousness — and your polarity determines
the flow’s direction.

What if you don’t want to polarize?

If you don’t want to polarize, don’t. You’re free to continue using both polarities if you so
choose. Just be aware that you can never expect to master either polarity unless you
commit to one or the other. In other words, if you don’t polarize, you will always live with
the knowledge that you lived far below your potential in terms of your ability to serve
others or to serve yourself. Your service to the world as well as your service to yourself
will be mediocre at best compared to what you could have achieved had you polarized.
This should be rather obvious. When you polarize, you are making a strong commitment,

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and when you are truly committed to something, you will invest a lot more time and energy
into your pursuits than you would otherwise.

Polarization is a special kind of commitment, similar to committing to mastery of a specific

field like music, art, medicine, or programming. Most people never make such a huge
commitment. But you cannot hope to master anything unless you commit to mastery of
one thing.

Mastery is a process, not a position. Mastery is when you turn a desire into an absolute
must. For lightworkers and darkworkers, these commitments are made for different
reasons. But in either case, a conscious decision is made to devote one’s time,
energy, resources, and talents to the chosen role with a high degree of intensity. That
intensity of focus is perhaps what most distinguishes someone who has polarized.

5 Responses to “Are You a Lightworker or a

Darkworker?”
Polarise or focus - its gets things done | ChrisGribble.com Says:
March 8th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
[...] Whatever terminology we use Steve Pavlina has got it right the more we focus on
our goals the more we will achieve. The narrower our focus the greater opportunity
that we will have for success. The more polarized you become, the more you tap into
your deepest levels of inner power. Whether you are a darkworker or a lightworker,
your source of power is always found within. It is not a form of agency or
positional power. You could be stripped of all your worldly titles and possessions
and still feel just as strong. As a lightworker your energy flows outward. (source) [...]

Link Karma - 13 March 2007 at Personal Development with The

Positivity Blog Says:
March 12th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
[...] The most interesting writing in the personal development part of the blogosphere
this last week has been about polarization and the question: are you a darkworker or
a lightworker? Check out Steve Pavlina´s series on those topics starting with The # 1
stevepavlina.com/…/are-you-a-lightwor… 4/5
1/11/2011 Are You a Lightworker or a Darkworker?
Mistake People do When Using the Law of Attraction. I found the Polarization post
to be especially interesting (and easy to understand thanks to the Star Wars
analogies). I don´t know what to think about all this yet but it sure is some new and
original stuff, at least for me. [...]

Lightworking Lessons From the Hubble Telescope Says:

April 20th, 2007 at 12:24 am
[...] Blogger Steve Pavlina discussed these paths in his recent article Are You a
Lightworker or a Darkworker? After insisting that mastery requires a polarizing
commitment to one path—and one alone—Steve denigrated the path of self-
knowledge: If you polarize as a lightworker, you are dedicating your life to serving the
greater good. If you polarize as a darkworker, you are dedicating your life to serving
yourself. To use a Star Wars analogy, it is similar to deciding whether or not to
become a Jedi or a Sith. [...]

Considering The Universe » Blog Archive » Lightworkers and

Darkworkers: Polarization for Progress Says:
September 27th, 2007 at 9:56 am
[...] As usual, one of our favorite bloggers, Steve Pavlina, came to the rescue. I
happened upon his poston polarity in lightworkers and darkworkers. He says: If you
polarize as a lightworker, you are dedicating your life to serving the greater good. [...]

Oneness Says:
October 9th, 2008 at 7:40 am
[...] articles on polarity and polarization and are wondering if this sounds like the path
of the darkworker, you’re [...]

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