Courage To Be You

It's fun to think of your favorite artists, back when they were just starting out. Playing the sidewalk in total  anonymity.
It makes you wonder, if they were right there in front of you, would you have noticed?

Strange that something so vibrant as art is so nearly invisible.
Strange how rarely we stop to savor the details, or hear the music playing in the background that’s far better than it has any right to be. It’s only after someone points it out, that you finally catch the tune.

It makes you wonder if there's brilliance all around you, hiding in plain sight, just waiting around to see if you’ll notice.

Who knows how many Kafkas and Van Goghs you might be walking past? Maybe the next J.K. Rowling is living just down the street, maybe she doesn’t even suspect it, any more than we do.

We assume that if a piece is any good, surely it'll find an audience. But maybe it’s mostly luck. Luck that they’re not already famous, or luck that the right person just happened to look up. One never knows how two people find each other, if they ever meet at all.

Imagine how much courage it takes, to show up and keep playing anyway, hoping it’ll resonate with someone passing by, though it won’t happen for everybody. To keep pouring your heart into something, even if it falls on deaf ears. Reaching out in the face of indifference, trying to give people permission to care.

Indifference is easy. It takes a lot of courage to fight back against it. So maybe we should stop and count ourselves lucky that there's still someone out there fighting the good fight.

TJ

Are You Fooling Yourself?

 

“C’mon! Let’s see what you’ve got. Just take your best shot…” 

It’s a great line from a Styx song with a chorus that repeats

“You’re fooling yourself and you don’t believe it. You’re kidding yourself, and you don’t believe it…”

The twist in the song is that “fooling yourself” doesn’t refer to an over-inflated ego or an unrecognized flaw in yourself. Instead, the song refers to unrealized potential, to an angry young man’s failure to see that his future, in reality, looks quite bright to those looking from the outside.

Sure, there are people who fool themselves (or try to fool others) with conceited over-estimations of their own abilities and contributions. However, I think that more of us fool ourselves in another way, by falsely believing we are less capable than we really are.

These self-imposed limitations cause us to give up or ,more often, not even try at all. We convince ourselves that we shouldn’t try because we can’t succeed. We protect ourselves from failure by doing only what we have already succeeded in doing before.

As a result, our possibilities become narrower, basically verifying that we are, indeed, limited.

This happens so easy because we are both creatures of habit and seekers of comfort. The saddest thing is that we only are fooling ourselves if we use our routines and limitations as security blankets.

In an age of rapidly expanding information, in a volatile economy, in a time of confusion around the world… can you honestly say that what you know and do today will always be enough? Real security comes from remaining open to trying new things. We have to adapt and risking failure for the purpose of self-development to achieve everything we are capable of achieving. 

As you read this, I hear the excuses piling up. You are fooling yourself if you are thinking “I can’t,” “I’ve never,” “I don’t know how,” “I’m not…” The truth is that you can, you will, you’ll learn and you are. However, remember it only becomes the truth when you believe it.

You Want PROOF? 

When you were at your very lowest points – less educated than you are now, less independent than you are now, and less experienced than you are now, you did new things every single day. You built skills that went way beyond your current capabilities. You were just a child. Even so, you took your best shot. You tried. You tried again and again if necessary. You did not fear failure, so you did not fail.

Consider what you are telling yourself. 

Challenge it. Don’t just take the easy way out.

Break free from self-limiting beliefs and stop fooling yourself. “Get up, get back on your feet, you’re the one they can’t beat…”

TJ

Strengthen Your Mind!

Don’t fear being and doing things alone.

Keep your focus on the future, not the past.

Understand that things take time.

Be patient, and keep trying when things are difficult.

Don’t fear being judged or criticized by others.

Decide to be the author and creator of your life.

Don’t let other people determine what you do.

Let go of all the thing you can’t control.

Learn to both accept, and to manage, your emotions.

Take calculated risks, and do what’s new and different.

TJ

When You’re Trying to Figure out your Life Remember...

We can't predict the future; we don’t know what lies ahead. All we can ever do is try to figure out a plan. 

Our friends and our parents don’t know the future either. Our life is OURS to live – don’t let ANYONE plan it for you. 

Enjoy what’s happening now; hang out, and do things with your friends...make the most of “now”. 

Uncertainty and change are a big – normal – part of life. So, learn to become comfortable with “not knowing right now.” 

Procrastination, although common, can really stop you from succeeding. Just take a step and act – regardless of the way you feel. 

 
You need to learn to focus – and ignore all distractions – otherwise, you’ll never really progress or succeed. 
 

Life is full of lots of chances – you can usually try again – or try another option if you mess things up this time.

TJ

Most Important Life Lesson

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

According to Blaise Pascal, we fear the silence of existence, we dread boredom and instead choose aimless distraction, and we can’t help but run from the problems of our emotions into the false comforts of the mind.

The issue at the root, essentially,

is that we never learn the art of solitude.

TJ