I know that this is all just another mission. Or as I say often, it’s just another day in paradise.
I know that today is nothing more than another moment in time, and that regardless of where we are now, we are all stationed here for a short period of time, which means time is ticking, my friends.
The clock is moving.
And dig it –
The world is not going to spin in a different direction just because we ask it to, and time is never going to slow down.
A minute will always be a minute, an hour is only an hour and a day is only a day. However, our relation and the way we view the time can make time seem like a blink of an eye, or otherwise, time can move slowly and a minute can seem like a lifetime.
We all know this, at least we should. Better yet, we understand this from an intellectual perspective. However, the mind is not always firing on all cylinders and our thinking is not always intellectual.
We’re not always thinking clearly or logically, and more often than not, the challenge is yes, we are an emotional species and therefore, we think emotionally.
We worry about the future without the ability to let go of the past. Hence, we find ourselves locked into a biased idea or drawn towards a series of influenced thoughts and assumptions, which are projections of fear or that the pains from our past disappointments might repeat themselves, and too, these are all easier to see than, say, the spawn of a new sunrise and the hope that something good is about to come from this crazy mess which we sometimes call “life.”
It is common, too, that we find it easier to note down our weaknesses and our faults and flaws. However, if we are asked to list our talents and our attributes, or if we are asked, “what are you great at?” or “what makes you a good person?” then for some reason, we find ourselves caught; as if there is a hard pause and often, there’s a face people make. Do you know what I mean?
Perhaps the facial expression looks something like a folded eyebrow, and one eye somewhat closed, as if to make a face, perplexed by the thought provoking question, and suddenly, we are at a loss when defining our greater qualities.
Whereas, it is effortless when it comes to listing our faults. I mean, we can rattle off a sea of complaints but compliments and the self-accolades are a challenge for most people.
Socrates once said, “The mind is your dilemma,” and as a subscriber, I agree with this, both heartily and fully aware that yes, it is me who trips and falls. Often, it is me who paints myself into a corner, and it is me who subconsciously finds myself in the aftermath of some self-fulfilled prophecy.
So . . .
What now?
What do you do?
How do you get around the obstacles in life and turn them into opportunities to rise above them?
How do we turn problems into possibilities so that we understand our ability to not only endure, but to know that we overcome, or to adapt, and that regardless of the challenge, we can stay the course because—and in all fairness to ourselves, regardless of who we are, or how we look, or despite the challenges we face or the social interferences around us, no matter how hard it seems to just survive—the fact is that everyone has the ability to improve, or adapt, and overcome.
Like you or like anyone else in this world, I come with my own share of hard times and adversity. Like anyone else, there are days when I am fit.
There are times when I can master the events around me and I can endure beyond my previous limitations. However, there are times when I give in and lose myself to intimidation.
I lose to my assumptions and the emotional dilemmas which take place in my head.
And I know that I am not alone.
I lose to my fears and my insecure notions which tend to build, or snowball, and next, my thought machine takes off and my worries gain momentum—when in fact, Socrates was right.
The mind is our dilemma.
I agree with the different speakers who I’ve heard say, “if you can think yourself into being sick, then you can think yourself into being well.”
If you can think yourself into failure, then you can think yourself into being successful.
It’s a trick. I agree.
But tricks are more manageable than we think.
I agree with this idea.
I agree with the limitations which come with our mindset. Therefore, I say it’s true—if you quit before you start then you failed before you tried.
I am like everyone else in this world. I can relate to the challenges which come with Imposter Syndrome. I know what Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is and, of course, depression and anxiety and me are old friends. When it comes to me and my life, each of the itemized traits above are like old friends who go back with me to the days of my early youth.
And by the way –
I don’t mind being honest about this. I don’t mind revealing my weaknesses because, to me, this only serves to make me stronger.
This allows my weaknesses to become weaker when I expose them—or perhaps in better terms, this makes the threat of my weaknesses less intimidating to me.
Therefore, I expose them here, where it’s safe for me, as if to be some kid who decided to stand up to my third grade bully, and finally, I decided to fight back, tooth and nail, until it was clear that no one is to pick on me again.
I don’t mind that I cry—in fact, it took me years to be proud of my emotions.
I am proud of my tears, and more than any of this, I can say that I earned my seat at the table, which means I survived.
So, what now?
I’ll tell you what . . .
Face the world.
Keep your chin up, no matter what.
Face the truth and take the pain.
Learn to endure and find your secret to living better, or to improve, fight back against the intimidations which seem to cripple us or hold us back.
The mind is our dilemma—and so, if this is true, then it should also be true that our mind is also our hero.
So which side of your mind will you choose to feed today:
The side that makes you strong
or the side that makes you weak?
The Written Addiction 