“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
~ Dale Carnegie
And just as the sky has cleared, so has much of that angst I’ve been experiencing. Life is truly a river. It ebbs and flows, often without much of our own “doing”.
Yesterday, as I was looking for that quote by Rilke, I opened my personal guidebook from 2009, which is when I first came across it. Opening this guidebook is always a very powerful exercise for me. It allows me to see where I’ve been, and how far I’ve come along the path. Inside my guidebook are one page business plans, budgets, to do lists, and my daily schedules. In the front section, however, are pieces of inspiration from that year: Photos, quotes, articles.
At the front of this first guidebook of mine lies an article by Steve Pavlina, entitled “The Courage to Live Consciously”, as well as a quote from his series on “The Meaning of Life”. Steve’s words had a huge impact on me, and whenever I’m feeling a bit stuck, I go back to them for empowerment ….
Steve writes: “Congruency is clarity. When you get clear about what you truly believe about reality by observing your actions and admitting the deepest, darkest truths to yourself that you never wanted to face, you’ll set yourself on a path of growth that will put all your earlier accomplishments to shame. You’ll unlock access to resources that were previously dormant — greater intelligence, greater awareness, greater conscience. And you’ll finally start living up to the greatness that has been too long buried under a pile of denial. Don’t be afraid to face who you really are. You’re a lot stronger than you realize.”
“If you commit to following the path of courage, you will ultimately be forced to confront what is perhaps the greatest fear of all – that you are far more powerful and capable than you initially realized, that your ultimate potential is far greater than anything you’ve experienced in your past, and that with this power comes tremendous responsibility. You may not be able to solve all the woes of this planet, but if you ever do commit yourself 100% to the fulfillment of your true potential, you can significantly impact the lives of many people, and that impact will ripple through the future for generations to come.
Catching a glimpse of your own greatness can be one of the most unsettling experiences imaginable. And even more disturbing is the awareness of the tremendous challenges that await you if you accept it. Living consciously is not an easy path, but it is a uniquely human experience, and it requires making the committed decision to permanently let go of that mouse within you.”
I let go of that mouse within me a long time ago. How about you?
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Read the full versions of these highly empowering articles by Steve Pavlina here:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/courage-to-live-consciously.htm
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/06/the-meaning-of-life-intro/
