Just for a minute, picture the karate or kung fu student. Kind of like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix when he’s in the fight simulator and has to fight for the first time. He drives at the teacher–does his best moves–and to his surprise is flattened to the ground by his teacher. Like any good student, he picks himself up again and drives again, over and over until he breaks through to his “ah ha” moment. His lesson is learned–and his very essence is transformed by the experience. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. More brilliant. More sharp.
How many times do we feel like the student? Life tests us constantly. We make our best moves and use what we know to strike or move ahead and frequently get knocked down or humbled by another challenge. Does running away help? No, it only makes you feel small or incapable. We grow only after we pick ourselves up and face the music again.
At the women’s conference, Sarah Ban Breathnach, best selling author of Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, admitted that she was extremely shy and standing or speaking in front of a large group was absolutely terrifying. In fact, when someone grabbed her by the arm to go mingle with the audience she said to herself “Sure, why don’t we just jump right off the cliff!” And she did. Those of us in the audience could feel her radiating afterward. Her eyes were shining.
How many times do we allow our inner critic to tell us we can’t.
“I’m not _____ [smart, pretty, rich, experienced, charismatic, blah blah blah] enough to do that.”
Maria Shriver told 14,000 women at the conference: “Fear tells you what action to take to prove that your inner critic is wrong.”
Perhaps it’s hanging upside down in an unfamiliar yoga pose.
Maybe it’s standing up for yourself for the first time.
Or traveling alone.
Maybe it’s doing a taped interview for the first time with a celebrity (this was my biggest fear last week, by the way).
What are you afraid of?
Face your fear (your teacher).
Be bold, be you, and jump right off that cliff.
In life there’s no script.
We all make mistakes.
What’s life if you don’t live it?
More like this…
Waves of Doubt from MyLifeCompass
Get to Know the Goddess Within from GlamWellness
How to be Miss Popular…With Yourself from BeThree
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