“Do the things the person you want to be would do and you’ll get there… Show up!”
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Who can you be?
The question foundational to all self-development inquiries, the highest ideal of oneself represents what we should realistically strive for in this lifetime.
To settle for less than your highest potential is to fail yourself for the convenience of comfort and safety.
As we’ve seen demonstrated over the past three years, the majority of people will choose safety at the cost of dangerous freedom. While this manifested externally on a societal scale, it represents an inner mindset that has come to dominate the psyche of the collective.
When the going gets tough, most people will choose the path of conformity if it perceivably means a greater chance of survival. On an internal level, this means conforming to societal norms and playing it safe in decision making. Considering we have been programmed to perpetually operate out of the fight or flight instinct, our survival instincts hijack both heart-centered awareness and logical analysis. The safest route will be chosen when the survival instincts are triggered, even when it comes at the cost of sovereignty.
This doesn’t mean people who choose safety don’t hope for bigger things. It’s within our nature to dream. The imagination is the greatest gift of self-awareness, as it represents the bridge between the dream realm and physical manifestation.
People will hope for change and call it their faith. However, the hard truth is that faith not backed by action is useless. You will go nowhere unless you first show yourself, not others, you’re willing to endure to get what you want.
The etymology of endure: “to undergo or suffer.”
The etymology of compassion: “to be with suffering.”
Give yourself compassion in the midst of your suffering and honor fully where you’re currently at.
Allow yourself to believe in better possibilities, but don’t stop there.
Dick Gregory perfectly summarized the pitfall of relying on hope:
https://twitter.com/evan_mcdermod/status/1688763658053238785?s=20
What good is hope if you aren’t taking conscious action to make the change yourself?
Hope is great for envisioning a long term outcome. Construct a dream. Make it big. Don’t shortchange yourself in what you want.
Is that long-term dream going to become a reality by tomorrow morning? Likely not.
Now, what are the steps you can take today to make that dream a reality?
Since dreams represent a higher ideal and better scenario than what is currently present, you will have to suffer in order to build the foundation for what you want. This will be a test of your spiritual endurance.
This is why physical training runs parallel with and is essential to spiritual development.
In your training, whatever physical modality you may choose, you are pushing yourself to achieve a higher goal. This could be winning a competition, mastering a new technique, hitting a new PR, or even just laying it all on the line in a workout. Your effort will be the only factor in if you achieve what you set out for.
Discipline is simply defined as the continual measurement of conscious effort.
This is where you can begin to consciously construct new internal narratives about yourself.
Start with rewarding yourself on a daily basis for your effort. Set goals that allow you to show up for yourself.
What is the energy you want to carry in to your day?
What type of pace would you like to set for yourself?
How do you plan to assess and conquer any challenges that may arise?
If you can set yourself a daily checklist that rewards effort, not performance itself, you’ll continue to make the steps that will lead to the inevitable manifestation of your vision.
Hell is dying and meeting the person you could have been.
There’s never a guarantee you’ll get another shot.
Go all in. Speak the truth. Say I love you. Dare to dream. Make the leap.
Showing up for yourself right now will make it easier to do so tomorrow. Set yourself up for success and start now.
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