All the Reasons You Can

I can tell when I'm in a self-protecting frame of mind when my first reaction to ideas and opportunities is the list of reasons why I can't. I'm too old, it's too expensive, I can't afford it, it'll never work, etc. ad nauseum. I'm not one of the people who suggest that ego is a bad thing. It's just a self-preservation mechanism that we all have. Its size is commensurate to the wounding it's trying to heal or prevent. Not bad.

But we're creatures designed for growth and expansion, so there's a natural tension between the life force urging us into a greater expression of ourselves and the coping mechanism that's developed to keep us from harm and total abandonment. This tension has to be resolved in times when we're considering bigger options for ourselves than we've allowed ourselves to have before.

I've said before I'm a fan of lists. To people who have an automatic impulse to find reasons why they can't I prescribe making a list of all the things you can do and why you can do them. You may find that they aren't as far out of reach as you initially thought.

Let yourself at least explore each opportunity you desire as thoroughly as you can, and let the reasons you can't do it be the last you consider.

#ego #selfdevelopment #growth