Run

Has anyone ever told you that you can’t have what you want? They may say you're not good enough, rich enough, or smart enough. Perhaps they say your passions are silly or unrealistic. We all know THAT person who will offer you a hundred reasons why you can't get what you want, but not offer you one reason why you can.

In reality, it is likely THAT person squashing your passions is you. Admit it, you've been doing it for years. "I can't start my own business, it’s too risky.", "There's no way I'm asking her out, she's way out of my league.", “I don’t have time to take karate classes!" You are your biggest buzz kill; and there's no escaping yourself… you are with you no matter where you go.

Social culture feeds the blame monster, training us to blame everyone and everything else but ourselves. So it may feel natural to blame outside sources when you “can’t” have what you want; but if something or someone makes you feel like you can’t pursue your passions, it's because that something or someone mirrors the doubt inside yourself. We so often crush our own passions. Such is life...

Life is like school. There's a playground, time-out, and tests. Our hardest tests in school often involve overcoming ourselves. This is the test most of us fail over and over again.

It is valuable to retreat within, and hear our own opinions. We are our own worst critics, and a retreat within is sometimes painful. We can be quite cruel to ourselves. Although difficult, it is imperative we take this deep dive within to discover the emotions and opinions we hold against ourselves. This the only way to CHANGE the emotions and opinions we hold against ourselves. One cannot change what they do not understand. Furthermore, aren't you sick of retaking this damn test? Shit, I am.

Something magical happens when we are brave enough to face our own negativity- we earn the opportunity to dissolve our asshole mind monster. This devilish mind monster lives within us to tear us down. Dissolving the mind monster isn't something we can do from the outside- we must travel within to get close enough to it...so we can trap it in a corner and put it in a sleeper hold: "Good night, asshole, no one tells me I'm not good enough...not even me."

How do we do that? How do we defeat the mind monster? Meditation. When we sit down to meditate, we shut down that mind monster. Maybe we don’t shut it down entirely; but we still gain some control over it. Day by bay, we get better at shutting down and being still. It is in this stillness that we recharge our conscious battery, and deplete our subconscious battery. Then one day, our conscious is stronger than our subconscious; and we gain control over our mind monster.

As our mind monster falls asleep, we start to wake up; and our self-inflicted blocks, fogs, and weights begin to melt away. The blame we had for other people and outside sources mutates into accountability. We develop the capacity to have more conscious thoughts. The opinions and restrictions associated with outside sources don't seem to matter anymore- because our conscious mind is in control. All our dreams, goals, and passions become clearer.

Without your mind monster’s opinions, you may be surprised by how strong you are...by how passionate you are. Perhaps you’ll even start to believe in yourself so fully that your dreams seem even more silly and unrealistic...no, that's just your mind monster waking up, give it a little squeeze around the jugular.

Does our mind monster go away after we defeat it with our conscious mind? No. That asshole keeps coming back. Your mind monster may be sitting in the back row of your mind, but it remains there, challenging you to stay awake. Even though you've identified its voice and cruel agenda, there will still be days when your mind monster creeps back. So, how do you win? How do you keep loving yourself? Encouraging yourself? Pursuing your passions? How you do stay ahead of your mind monster’s negativity?

You run.

Run as fast as you can towards what you are passionate about. Narrow a scope on your dreams, and run. Jump over hurdles, break through any walls, pick up what you need along the way, and don't stop running until you get there. When you hear your mind monster say "This is unrealistic, stop this nonsense", you yell back, "I cannot hear you over the sound of my feet hitting the ground. Not today, asshole!"

You know what your passions are. You know who you are.

You know you are good enough. You've already taken this test, and it is time for recess.

Now run.