#BlogElul
We’ve been talking about change, about daring, and by extension about fear. What is the opposite of fear? To quote the great Steven Pressfield, the opposite of fear is love.
If you follow this blog, you know that I have mixed feelings about Steven Pressfield. I love much of what he says, especially the quote above, which I will now give in full just because it is so wonderful:
“The opposite of fear is love – love of the challenge, love of the work, the pure joyous passion to take a shot at our dream and see if we can pull it off.”
― Steven Pressfield, Do the Work
I do, however, take issue with his image of the constant battle against the Resistance – I can’t live with a never-ending war in my head. I’ve talked about this at great length in my newsletter. One of my favourites is entitled “Loving the Lizard“. In it, I proclaim that loving our fearful Lizard Brain like we would a fretful toddler is the path to achieving the clarity we require for work and achievement.
That’s hard, of course. We have all grown up with that hateful voice in our head, telling us we can’t do it, we aren’t smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough, thin enough, just not enough, period. How can we become enough?
I wish I could give you a road map for that. I’m on the way myself, and in no small part thanks to the support of my readers and friends. When others tell us that we are, in fact, good enough, we may well end up believing it, and carry on through the dark parts.
It comes back to love again, doesn’t it. It’s all you need. Really.
What ways have you found to quiet that insistant negative self-talk? Please share so we can all find more peace.
