Listen

I am always surprised when someone spends 10 minutes telling me how much they dislike their job, their level of fitness, their relationships or another area of their life, but can then spend 20 minutes explaining why nothing can change.

• It's too hard
• It's too expensive
• I couldn't do it
• Someone else is already doing it
• ...ad nauseam 

We should listen more to ourselves when we have a good thought or vision. We should listen less to the internal debate we inevitably encounter anytime we push ourselves beyond our mind's faux comfort zone. It's instinct to be afraid and avoid the unknown. This protected the physical bodies of our ancestors but does the modern day person, and more specifically their mind, a great disservice.

To be able to really listen and not just hear your thoughts you have to be able to cut through the incessant noise of a very busy mind. The exercise of quieting the mind is most commonly known as meditation. We often reach a meditative state naturally after vigorous exercise, while taking in a great view or enjoying a great cup of coffee while watching a child or pet at play. We love these moments although most of us don't realize why or that they're even happening until they're over. It's because we're giving ourselves permission to enjoy the fact that we exist - we are present, what else could one wish for? That peace of mind is always available to us, we just don't work very hard to keep it close at hand. 

We have much more control over our minds than we realize. Mediation is a great practice to adopt into one's life and can be thought of as an exercise that strengthens clarity of thought. Lawrence can show you the way if you're interested.

Clarity of thought is a wonderful habit to practice. It is also very helpful in allowing a person to truly listen to themselves, to who they really are. We learn to listen to our parents, to listen to our teachers, to listen to our peers, to listen to the TV, to listen to books - mentions of listening to oneself are more often referring to carefully weighing the consequences of listening to others than truly exploring our own mind. 

Listening to oneself is scary, who do you blame if you fail? What if you're wrong? You will fail, we all fail, it happens all the time. Being wrong is great, it means you could be closer to being right - whatever that means. Failing and being wrong happens regardless of who you listen to and then before you know it, lights out, game over, you're done. What's the point of keeping your head down? The end results of this journey are the same regardless. You die. 

Be yourself. Have an opinion. Pick a side. Create your vision everyday. This is a battle for the ages, we've been fighting it for a long time. In reality there is no yesterday or tomorrow - there was and hopefully there will be - but today is it. Listen.