I watched Tim Ferriss on the Ted Talks this morning as I pedaled along... and the part that struck me was the question of "The Cost of Inaction."
Every now and again, I have doubts about my journey, whether I am on the right path for me or not.
And, this phrase, "The cost of inaction" is very helpful in laying aside my fears.
There is a greater cost of doing nothing in dysfunctional homes, especially where abuse has become the norm, than the cost of making new choices.
What I have gained is much greater than what I have lost.
Another part that gave me back my confidence is
"Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life." and,
"The hard choices -- what we most fear doing, asking, saying -- these are very often exactly what we most need to do. And the biggest challenges and problems we face will never be solved with comfortable conversations, whether it's in your own head or with other people."
"So I encourage you to ask yourselves: Where in your lives right now might defining your fears be more important than defining your goals? Keeping in mind all the while, the words of Seneca: "We suffer more often in imagination than in reality."
I totally agree.
And, one more that is true in my experience.
"So around 300 BC in Athens, someone named Zeno of Citium taught many lectures walking around a painted porch, a "stoa." That later became "stoicism." And in the Greco-Roman world, people used stoicism as a comprehensive system for doing many, many things. But for our purposes, chief among them was training yourself to separate what you can control from what you cannot control,and then doing exercises to focus exclusively on the former. This decreases emotional reactivity,which can be a superpower."
This has brought me much peace - "training yourself to separate what you can control from what you cannot control."
Working on what I can control has brought inner tranquility and self-empowerment and kindness.
I have given others back that which they control and only held what is mine to change.
Each time I stumble or halt along my way, when I direct myself back to that which is within my power to control, I am calm.
Even when the choices are hard, I know that they will truly lead to a much easier, more authentic life.
I love that I am living the life of a stoic, which is my superpower.
