Stop Struggling and Start Creating

Recently, on an afternoon walk I noticed that I had started to struggle with virtually everything around me. In particular I was resisting the work that lay ahead of me and focussing on other things that I wasn’t happy with. Not surprisingly, until I saw this all I felt was difficulty, stress and tension. It doesn’t take long for mental stress to get to the point where it can be felt through the whole body. I had started to get headaches and feel all kinds of tightness in different places like the chest, back and arms. Having observed these things for a while now, it’s quite obvious that the physical symptoms  are just the manifestation of my internal tension. And when I looked at the kinds of thoughts I had been giving my attention to they were mostly to do with anticipation of conflicts, of fears and anxieties, the mindset that is perfect for creating stress physiology. I might call this the Don Quixote mind!

But I also noticed something else. Most days, even with this tension and ‘noise’, at some point I would just start moving forward with my work. In fact, I think on these days I allowed myself to go forward party because I would just exhaust myself with this internal struggle. Resistance takes a huge amount of energy, much more than that required to do what we are resisting. It’s like driving a car downhill with the brakes on or swimming against the waves.

Anyway, I would sit down and start writing, or get on with the tasks that needed doing. Doing this, I realised something powerful.

I start winning when I stop fighting.

I start winning when I start creating.

I start winning when I allow myself to act.

It is so profoundly simple, and it’s a thought that I want to share with you.

Let go of the brakes a little, and just allow yourself to roll with life a bit more.

The situations life throws at us can’t be won by negative thought, especially by thoughts that are founded in our inability to accept what is. And it is this acceptance, regardless of whether things are ‘good’ or ‘bad’, just acceptance, which is necessary so that we can look at things as they are and move to forward with clarity, taking efficient and effective action. The alternative, fighting and resisting what is, and even what isn’t, is no basis for health, happiness or progress of any kind. After all, how can we change anything if we cannot accept that it is real in this moment.

If you relate to this, just put down the weapons of war, take off some of the armour, relax, and begin creating rather than fighting. If you do, you’ll notice another thing. To face life directly, without all our defences and weapons takes even more courage. But when you do this, you might discover that you’re more courageous than you ever dreamed possible.