Do you ever have those moments when you hear exactly what you need to hear at the time you need to hear it? Sometimes it's a particularly apropos fortune cookie fortune. Other times it's a hokey picture and inspirational saying shared on Facebook. Today, for me, it was a blog post by Dar Hosta.
In her weekly post today, Hosta referenced the writings of Leo Babauta of the blog Zen Habits. Most particularly, she talked about his post The Child That Holds Us Back. In it, Babauta talks about how a little child lives within us who keeps us from doing the things that are difficult or scary or painful or require energy. This child tells us to stop doing things that are hard, to keep away from the scary, to be lazy when what we want requires doing too much work. He says:
This voice isn’t you. It’s a little child inside you. It’s the younger version of you, perhaps when you were 5 or 6.
This little child, this younger you, doesn’t like things that are uncomfortable or scary or difficult. What 5-year-old does?
This little child likes things that are comfortable and safe and pleasurable.
This is the child that you were when you learned all your thinking habits, when you tried things and quit because they were hard. Who could blame a 5-year-old for being like that?
But you’re not 5 years old anymore. And yet your life is run by this 5-year-old.
Good heavens, my life is run by a 5-year-old! And she needs a spanking. She's a very bad child who just wants to sit back and relax. She doesn't want to have to work for the things she knows she wants and needs.
I'm supposed to be working on a proposal for a project right now. I'm not quite ready to share with the world what it is, but I will before too long. This project is one I would love to do; it would be both fun and good for my artistic resume - not to mention my ego. I have no doubts about my ability to carry out the project to completion and get it done beautifully.
However, I can't even be chosen to do the project if I don't get the proposal done within the next week. My inner child is urging extreme procrastination and laziness. If I'm honest, it's mostly because I don't feel like I can present myself on paper as a serious contender for this project. I'm afraid of looking foolish. I keep wanting to say I'm also being too lazy to do it, but that's not it really. It's just fear.
It's time to take a shot of courage - and whiskey - and get off my butt and get busy. My inner child be damned!
Now, what are you avoiding? Does your inner child need to be spanked, too? Let me know and I'll give you permission and encouragement. I promise to not report you for child abuse.
