The Voice in Your Head

Have you noticed the instant you come up with a cool idea it’s almost immediately followed by a huge fuckin’ battalion of reasons or considerations that pop into your head talking you out of doing something with it?

‘You’re too old, you’re too young, people will think you’re a fruit-cake, I’ll do it when I’m ready and on and on.

In my experience, this voice in our head is mostly spouting a complete load of bollocks. It’s the voice of our conditioning wanting to keep us safe in a nice cozy little box of familiarity. It couldn’t give a monkeys about us being happy and it slings out thoughts and feelings to make sure we never stray too far from the cave.

Taking Charge

I could write another blog digging into why and how we are conditioned and the purpose of it but for now, let's assume what I’m saying is the truth. (I know it’s the truth).

So how do we get rid of those considerations?

We can’t.

What we can do is begin to take charge of our behavior in relation to the thoughts. Because if we don’t we are always going to be at the effect of them. Over time, if we begin to bring awareness to our thoughts, they stop being as forceful and determined. They stop nagging us as intensely.

The thoughts we have are often disguised a little differently but the fact is mostly they are all to do with fear of the unknown.

The main reason we come up with for not ‘going for it’ is ‘I don’t feel ready’.

Living the Dream

What happens with a lot of folks is they think the person who is making shit happen doesn’t have those thoughts and that they’re always ready to rock n roll. My experience is that is not so.

When I left my job in 2011 to start up my own photography business I was scared. I didn’t feel ready. I’d go so far as to say I didn’t feel ready before, during, and after some of the most incredible experiences of my life, not least having children.

The difference between people living the life of their dreams and people dreaming the life of their dreams amounts to not very much. It’s simply the person doing it does it despite the thoughts and fears and feelings they are having.

Journal Practice

Awareness is key. Mostly we’re not aware of how the thoughts and feelings we experience are governing the course of our lives.

Summary: A great little practice is to journal once a week. What is it you want to accomplish this week? Notice the fear that manifests when you close in on writing down your big dreams. The fact is when you write it down it feels a little more real. You hold yourself a little more accountable, i.e. I have to do it now. This is a good thing. Being scared means you’re on the right track. It doesn’t feel good, I understand, but the reality is we cannot trek the unknown comfortably. It’s simply not part of the deal.

Creating a Shift

And if you do manage to push through and write down something juicy that you want to accomplish, be aware of the thoughts that reason with you not to do it. Notice the excuses your mind comes up with.

See if you can begin to move in the direction of doing it anyway despite what you think and feel. It takes practice but little by little you will begin to see a shift in your relationship with your thoughts and feelings and for sure you will see a shift in your experience of life.

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