WEEKLY THOUGHTS #11 (part 1)

My intention for today is to tell you that nothing will work without the work + nothing is as bad/good as it seems. On how I listened to myself. It’s a few years from now that I started my self-development journey. It was about ten years ago since I was doing something else than my peers. I was more into sports, psychology and science. Sports were something where it all started. I was playing volleyball 2 times per week and doing workouts on a daily basis at least 4 times per week. I was doing a lot, and sometimes in a way, I was not able to move the next week. It was hard, but it gave the first bits of what I now see as a great gift that I couldn’t appreciate enough back then.

Discipline

I was already talking about the discipline in WT#3, the triggers, processes and tips on how to achieve to be more disciplined. Discipline is not something that you are doing because you like it. Because you enjoy doing it. Because there is some good result after it. If you are thinking like this, you will end up very quickly with unwanted or unsatisfied results. You know, this was a long journey. 10 years of non-stop working, mentally, physically and emotionally was frustrating. But I had my vision of where I wanted to be and I can tell that without the hard work I put into it I wouldn’t be where I am now. There were many steps to be where I am now. I was emotionally unstable back then but I was literally asking the Universe to make me strong. And suddenly, as I wanted it so badly, as I was not in a good emotional situation, it happened. One by one. The point of passing through something was not to avoid the emotional triggers. The point was actually the opposite. Nothing will make you stronger than if you go through the stuff by yourself, with the full you have, with your whole heart and with all the fear you have. That is what will make you stronger. Not going backwards, or around the problem, issue but straight ahead, because the uncomfortable feeling that you will feel, is actually hidden excitement. This feeling, I found out is one of the trickiest ones because it is like it’s wearing a hoodie, hiding behind the corner in shadow having a knife in hand. But actually, what happens, if you go to check what it is, who is there, what is happening there, why it is there, you will find a nice smiling something in a pinky jacket with a banana in its hand. I experienced this so many times, either it was for my personal experience and personal life or it was related to my work and profession. Let me now explain to you how this works.

When we face a problem that we haven’t faced yet, parts of the brain that correspond to the “old” brain (from the evolutionary point of view) are activated. What does it mean? Well, I mean that you are going backwards thousands of years ago to the age when the first people were inhabiting the Earth. Our brains are very smart and stupid at the same time. Imagine you have an interview or you are going on a special date or you have a final examination in school. When a trigger like this happens, your brain is “firing” with the old memories and experiences that are literally coded into your DNA. What does it mean- is that you feel like you are Neanderthal. You feel very much fear because there is something going on outside. You feel frightened that you will be eaten (even though I didn’t hear about teachers eating students, but it feels like that). This fear that we are experiencing today is very much the same fear, scientifically proven (SP), as we are facing now in the 21st century. Isn’t it crazy? Tell me, how many times you are frightened when you go to the shopping mall that you will be eaten by a tiger or bear? I doubt it! So, I am telling you that the same fear is hunching us nowadays in the situations corresponding o the 21st century, like exams, partnerships, relationships, fashion, the food industry, etc.

How to face it? Face it. It will be much less hurtful than it seems. We learnt, unfortunately, from our parents that we should be living small, we should be happy with what we have and not want more. I am not saying that there is no wisdom inside of it but it is making our ancient brain very confused. The only thing that I recommend to everybody when dealing with some new experience, is to be open and uncritical. The vast majority of the pressure we put ourselves in is from the misunderstanding of the man behind the corner with the “knife”. When we are open and we face the things that are in front of us, without judging the situation we are in and judgement of ourselves, we’ll be liberated. And that is why it is always worth to continue doing uncomfortable things, being in uncomfortable situations because, from that place your soul, your mind and your body will grow. In its sense if you realise those people who colonized the Earth were just those who were able to adapt to change, thus able to feel uncomfortable for some time.

That is my recommendation for today and I hope I’ll see you for part 2, where I will elaborate on the fact that nothing is as bad/good as it seems and how it is connected to discipline, goal setting and our mindset.

Take care.

Love & hugs,

ZlatkaK