Obstacle Illusions: Internal v.s. External Resources “Sometimes, the chains that prevent us from being free are more mental than physical.” External resources = Money, food, material possessions (house, car, land, etc.), security, etc. Internal resources = Creativity, intelligence, courage, attitude, self-discipline, confidence, focus, drive, willpower, knowledge, skill(s), patience, persistence, perseverance, etc. Internal Resources v.s. External Resources The real dividing line between highly successful people, and those who “can never seem to catch a break” lies in how they define, allocate, and make use of their internal and external resources. Someone who defines their strengths, capabilities, and potentials off of their external resources find themselves on a constantly waxing and waning ocean. Good days are really good, and bad days are really bad, because their entire sense of self-esteem, accomplishment, – and most importantly, happiness – is based entirely on how well their external circumstances are lined up. These are the types of people who only work for and look forward to pay day, so they can feel like their routine lifestyle is worth it. Should they lose hours at their job or become unemployed for whatever reason, their sense of security comes into question and immediately becomes uncertain. As a result, their behavior becomes compromised, because it’s completely dependent on external variables (of which one ultimately has little control over) being lined up “just so”. For such people, money and security are the prime external resources they’re betting all of their chips on. This is the path that 95% of people will naturally adopt due to social programming. I’m sure you’ll agree this is a very disempowering path to choose, especially relative to your other option. Someone who defines their strengths, capabilities, and potentials based off of their internal resources is essentially unpredictable and circumstantially-invincible by comparison. Their external environment can be changing and shifting out from beneath their feet on a daily basis, and they still keep on going. They could lose their job and all of their material possessions, but they’ll still keep on taking inspired action toward their goal. This is important, not because I want you to understand the difference between these two states, but because I want you to pay attention to the common denominator that makes results manifest for you, regardless of which path you decide to take/fall into by default: The higher your frequency for inspired action (meaning the more frequently you take a particular type of action toward a goal), the sooner and more reliably will results begin manifesting for you. Not only that, but pay attention to how the only thing really preventing you from taking high-frequency inspired action is your own thinking about what may or may not actually happen. People in the external resources group are paralyzed by this thinking, People in the internal resources group take high-frequency action regardless of their immediate emotional reaction/state. We’re going to dissect and explore these two concepts more deeply in the remainder of this article, and then extract some serious personal empowerment from them. The Size, Shape, and Make of Your Obstacles Matter 0% There are plenty of people with massive financial and social advantages that are more stuck, timid, and confused about life and personal changes than you could ever imagine. This seems counter intuitive to any reasonably intelligent person, because one would assume that the more resources one has, the more capable one is for navigating around and dealing with resistance and obstacles. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Depending on the individual, such resources can act more like a tomb rather than an escape rope for personal progress. Conversely, we constantly hear stories regarding individuals who have gone from “rags to riches”, conquered innumerable odds, and overcome incredible obstacles. The only constant here is intelligent, repeated action at a high enough frequency. Such people do a good job of acting as examples for moving through “obsctacles” as if they didn’t even exist… The details and financial state of the individual are as related to the outcome of any goal as is your decision to wear a particular pair of socks, and/or eat a particular kind of cereal for breakfast this morning. Random and unrelated; unless we assume otherwise. This is an amazing realization, because it backs up the fact that material circumstances are not pre-requisites for personal and spiritual growth and advance. This is another empowering truth that should remove some of the illusory weight from your shoulders. Think deeply about both sides of this equation, and how people with everything can remain stuck indefinitely, while people with very little (or nothing at all) keep “breaking the mold” and “overcoming the odds” on a constant basis. So, what’s the real difference, truth, and choice going on here? Becoming Aware of The Root Issue How well do negative thoughts and assumptions (without action-based-results to back them up) help you transition into actually taking action? Most likely you’ll feel a wave of analysis paralysis coming on when you start thinking in that direction for too long. This is, however, exactly what everyone does when it comes time to step up on a new goal, such as a diet change or career transition. So, what do we do? In truth, while everyone has unique goals, as well as circumstances for working within toward said goals, everyone will tend to focus on the wrong part of the equation: the potential obstacles involved. Even though we’re excited to get started, we often find our minds drifting into territory such as “How will I pay my bills/keep food on the table if I make this choice? What if it doesn’t work? What if I go broke or lose some material possessions on this path?”. Consequently, things like money, time, and other seemingly finite resources make their way to the forefront of our thinking. These are nothing but the ramblings of someone convinced that external resources are the be-all-end-all of human achievement, however. While it may seem intelligent to take into account any and all possible difficulties and setbacks you may encounter, you’ll soon understand why this is a waste of precious time and energy on your part. The specifics and intricacies are different and unique for everyone, but overall we’ll all fall into the same patterns of assumptions. This typically goes as follows: 1. Attachment to the old habit, usually an arbitrary emotional attachment 2.General concerns about the uncertain variables that lie ahead 3.Social/family resistance to your new goal(s)/action(s) So while our individual circumstances may be unique, our assumptions and expectations about how things may unfold are anything but unique. Virtually every single person who attempts a lifestyle change (regardless of where they are in life), will typically fall prey to the unconscious traps involving the areas above. This should be incredibly empowering to you, because your true obstacles aren’t the obstacles you’re assuming to be “out there”; it’s your perception of what constitutes those very obstacles in the first place. Since everyone falls for this trap, and plenty of people have made it through with flying colors and achieved a massive variety of successes – you should feel empowered to know that your personal attempt is anything but a “one shot deal” before all has failed. Your Emotional State = The Keys to Your State of Potential Action Your emotional centers are like a state controller, which either push you or prevent you from behaving in certain ways. When you allow your emotions to dictate your behavior more often than not, you’re going to miss out on a lot of growth opportunities by using the excuse of “playing it safe”. This is the very same logic that would have you believe that it’s too dangerous to drive your car, because you might pop all four tires. Better to just let it sit in the driveway! Those who define their resources and security externally have “missed the boat”, so to speak, and are allowing their initial emotional responses to dictate the rest of their behavior. Those who define their resources and security internally are conscious of the trap of initial emotional response, and intentionally defy, alter, shift, or transmute their emotional state in the present moment to the one they prefer. This is what allows them to take intelligent action, despite their physical environment indicating that “they should” be focusing on “more prominent/important issues first”. Those who insist on defining security externally will forever convince themselves that their perceived obstacles are bigger and stronger than they could ever be. Such people don’t realize they are building up the situation within their own minds, where it exists in its entirety in the first place. The image of the horse tied to the plastic lawn chair at the top of this article is the perfect example of this. Your own thinking is the true obstacle, not the contents of your thoughts. Convince yourself that an ant hill is actually Mt. Everest, and so shall it be. I, nor anyone else, can convince you otherwise so long as you choose to define it in that way. I can, however, point out/point you to other equally valid choices that will stretch and expand your current level of consciousness on said topic. If you truly believe things like lack of money, time, or support from family and friends is enough to prevent you from achieving a particular goal, consciously recognize and accept that your true problem is that you’re using those things as excuses to cover up the truth that you don’t feel strong enough yet to handle said goal(s). This is the first step to seriously fulfilling personal growth. You can’t change what you refuse to accept, because you refuse ownership. You can only change that which you own. Once you decide that you and you alone own your thoughts, feelings, and assumptions about life – then and only then will you be able to behave intelligently in a new direction. This new direction is where your growth, fulfillment, and happiness lies. The treasure chest of personal goal achievement and satisfaction is being kept at bay by a key. That key is your very mind itself. Instead of convincing yourself that said key is a giant, immovable boulder – consciously accept and recognize it for what it is. Only then will you realize that the key is just a key, and its purpose is to allow you to open and unlock the treasure that already is – always has been, and always will be – present within you.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 03:49:27 +0000
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