The New Year Escape Plan: A Different Kind of Resolution

One good thing about a recession is that it gets people thinking.  The sea of uncertainty separates the rodents who can jump, from those who prefer to go round in a wheel. A recession builds as much as it breaks, demanding initiative and independent determination from the individual who sees opportunity.

Unfortunately such an individual may go unprovoked for the majority of the year, distracted by the monotony of the yearly cycle, justified by the supposed worthiness of their contribution to the wheel of society. Yes, they silence that nagging voice that urges there could be more by plodding away in the system, allowing the years materialistic and artificial milestones to allow the illusion of progress. Yet ever so often something wonderful happens, circumstances align to awaken the individual to hope...a hope for more. And I mean a real more, not a more as in more things, more money, more clothes. More as in make more of a difference, more as in more happiness, more as in more success. This awakening is perhaps never more widespread as The New Year.

The New Year is an opportunity to pause and review, to look back at what one has been doing and evaluate if it is working. Typical New Years Resolution’s tend to favour a todo list of self improvements such as loosing weight or being nicer. Such resolutions are fine for the person who is more or less happy with their position on the rat wheel of society. However I would argue that for those individuals who know in their heart there is more, such resolutions are a cheap temporary filler for a permanent gaping hole.

Let me break it down some more, if you hate your job, if you are under appreciated and under paid, if you have a dream or a vision for contributing more to the world, if you have a business idea- if you have any of these, and your New Years Resolution is along the lines of ‘be nicer to Sally’ or ‘drop 10 pounds’  you’re selling your self short.

Let your resolution be to sort your life out. I know thats daunting. I know thats a lot. I know that it is certainly more of a challenge then a neatly packaged pre suggested generic resolution, but it is what actually needs resolving. Each time you sit in that job you hate, with no plan of escape, or put off your traveling or charity work, or shelf your big idea you are abusing your spirit. Now let me be clear, I am not saying quit, sell up thy things and follow my teachings. I am simply saying make the resolution to water the seed of potential in you.

What does that look like you ask? Picture your mind is in a prison. When you first got into this prison, you had dreams of escape, dreams of more than the existence thrust upon you, but as time moved on reality took over the dream, and like a broken horse, you accustomed yourself to your surroundings and accepted your lot.  I am trying to help you escape.

The first step of escape is to realise that one is trapped. I think we have established that. The second step to escape is to visualise life on the other side, feed your dreams and acknowledge their realness. The third step is to plan escape, and the forth is to actually escape.

This year put into place a plan to get closer to your dream. That may take the form of sacrificing your ‘free time’ to research, plan and build. That may sound like a bummer but let me say this- it’s not free time until you are actually free, and doing what you were born to do.  

So, if you feel that New Year Itch, scratch it. Work hard, Act fast. Set goals and work towards them now. January is like a rapidly closing window of awakening. If you don’t establish a plan now, pretty soon the monotony of the wheel will have entrapped you into its superficial routine. Time is precious, and so are you. If you know you are not living to your full potential, resolve to rectify this in 2016 . I know times are tough and uncertain and blah blah blah- but these are the times you were dealt. And news flash the world has never been easy. You owe it to yourself. Escape.

This article was originally written and posted by me on 06 Jan 2014. To see original post click here

Life Hack : Overcoming Fear

If you're naturally an anxious person, there is no doubt that you have been told by well meaning peppy friends that the best way to overcome fear is to just "feel the fear and go for it" you know, do it anyway. This sounds great in principle, like an inspirational quote that should be written on a poster with panther, however in practice it's not so easy to silence your fears and positively push on.

My anxious friends, I feel you- there is certainly a scale of anxiety, and for those of you who are most severe, I strongly suggest seeking medical help, as severe anxiety is no joke, but for those moderates, I have come across a tactic that just might help you muster the courage and go for it.

The premise of this trick is inspired by Eckhart Tolle's, The Power of Now (a great book, must read). The central premise is, you are not your mind. Meaning there is a you that is infinitely powerful, and there is your mind. Your mind is full of worry, pain of past hurt and fear, it is the voice by which you evaluate situations. Eckhart encourages you to silence your mind and learn that sometimes it can be your biggest enemy.

Now it is difficult to silence your mind, some say its impossible, however after some consideration I decided that there is indeed some merit to separating your self (you at your best, who you were meant to be) from your weak, fretting mind. I decided to try something. To separate the thinking negative into one person in my mind (weakness) and develop another voice of strength. The voice of strength is focussed on what I want in life, and fed by my visualisations of a better life. The voice of weakness is that inevitable fearful voice, that gets in the way and usually psyches me out of doing what I need to do. Now that I had separated the two, negative thoughts could not run riot without being consciously checked. This is so important, as anyone with anxiety will know that left unchecked, one fearful thought will grow to a deafening riot. See your negative thoughts as bullies, bullies that given half the chance will have you living in fear, and never realising the life you were meant for. See your positive thoughts as your best friend, sticking up for you against the bullies and reminding you of why you're here, and that you can do it, pit the two against each other, and mindful of what you want out of life, ensure your best you wins!

I find this really helps me in situations where I feel fear getting the best of me and I hope it helps you too. I guess sometimes spilt personalities can be a good thing ;)