The Steep Climb
It’s that time of year when things start to get a little chaotic. It’s two and a half weeks off Christmas and a lot of us are scrambling to buy our gifts, attend all the functions, and in amongst it all we’re trying to figure out how we can do things differently in the new year.
Christmas not only can be a joyous time but for others it can be approached with sadness or fear. Often we get to this time of year and we can start to get nostalgic about years gone by or reflect on what we haven’t achieved. It’s a steep climb.
We compare.
We criticise.
We forget about the gifts we’ve already been given.
Our personal and professional lives seem a mess. We’re discouraged. We feel weighted down.
And I’m simply reminded that:
Having a rough day/week/month/year? Place your hand over your heart . Feel that? That’s called purpose. You’re alive for a reason. Don’t give up!
You. Yes You have been created with purpose. What do we do when it seems too hard?
Rise up.
But Diana you said in your title ‘Don’t quit unless you’re meant to.’ What does that mean?
Sometimes we can live in a state of flux. A state where we are not being our most authentic selves. We strive for career choices, relationships, and ‘things’ that just aren’t us.
So what do I mean?
I mean for you to let go. To surrender. To stop fighting what is not you and to seek out what is you. Don’t quit as such. Keep seeking. Knocking. And opening the doors of opportunity but don’t just keep hounding something that just ain’t mean to be. Be you!
3 Ways to Sink into the Surrender
Acknowledge Your Ego
When feeling discouraged acknowledge that your ego is trying to get in your way. That ego or ‘inner mean girl’ can say some pretty rotten things.
Gabrielle Bernstein in her book “Spirit Junkie” says that:
You cannot be faithful to two masters who ask conflicting things of you. Therefore we have to choose between the tiny mad idea and the love we came from. Most of the time we choose fear. In an instant we are separated from love and allow the ego to take over. The ego becomes like a bully in our minds. The ego’s goal is to shut down the love parade and trap us on a dark and lonely street by making us believe we’re separate from the loving mindset we are born with. Listen to what the ego says, and see what it directs you to see, and it is sure that you will see yourself as tiny, vulnerable and afraid. You will experience depression, a sense of worthlessness, and feelings of impermanence and unreality. (Page 40).
How do we then address ego? Bernstein addresses further:
With eyes closed, think of the negative thought patterns that cross your mind. Name each one as it occurs to you, and then call it out. Deny its reality by following the fearful thought with the loving response, ‘Love did not create it, and so it is not real.’
Examples:
Ego Thought: I am unworthy of happiness.
Loving Response: Love did not create the belief that I am unworthy, and so it is not real. (Page 51).
Acknowledge our ego and start responding with the loving response. Meditate on it. Pray through it. Whatever your chosen medium, make sure you recognise that ego can be powerful and it’s up to us what we do with that power.
I don’t know about you but I choose life.
Surround Yourself with Positivity
Here are some ways I tackle discouragement:
- Journal
- Write affirmations and place them around your home. Practice it like this young girl. Jessica’s Affirmations
- Serve others.
- Pay it forward. Buy a coffee for the next person in line. Make something for a friend in need. Write a hand written note.
- Hang out with friends who energise you. Karl Marx (yeah I know weird name to quote in this blog), once said that “Surround yourself with people who make you happy. People who make you laugh, people who help you when you are in need. People who genuinely care. They are the ones worth keeping in your life. The others are just passing through.”
- Read/watch/listen to things that instil positivity into your spirit. Lately I’ve been questioning some of the suspense movies I’ve been watching as some of them are really creepy, gory, and scary. Should I be filling my spirit with these things? Is now a good time for that? Or could I listen to a podcast that will grow my character or simply just make me laugh.
Let Go
Often we try to control things because it’s rooted in fear and often we become attached to a particular outcome that we think is best for us. We feel anxious.
When we surrender we let go off the control. Surrendering not only feels better but can often produce amazing results.
Einstein once said that:
The most important decision we make is whether we believe in a friendly or hostile universe.
I believe that even in the chaos and confusion God is there waiting for us to surrender into the purpose and plan. Sure ask questions. That’s the very nature of faith. But trust that the ‘friendly’ universe in our loving creator God has something far greater than we could have hoped or imagined.
How can we sink into that surrender?
Think about what makes you feel peaceful…
And then do it.
You don’t have to give up your dreams but sink into the surrender and see what happens when you stop going against what you’ve naturally been gifted to do. You might get a pleasant surprise.
And if you do, would you please tell us. It’s been that kind of week for me. Sometimes it feels like what I am doing here at “The Butterfly House” goes unseen. Someone unlikes my page or unsubscribes to the newsletter and I take it personally. My usually creative mind seems to be blank and I’m struggling to write posts for you of late. I feel redundant in so many ways but I know it’s my ego trying to play mind games with me.
But I’m sinking into the surrender.
And I’m excited about what’s to come.
Are you ready to come on the journey with me?
What disappointments and challenges have been popping up for you? What are ways that keep you from quitting? How do you know when it is simply time to surrender? I’d love to know. If you liked this post please share using the buttons below and let’s get a conversation started.