How to stop fighting and start living

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If your life has turned into a series of difficulties that must be overcome, do not rush to despair. Listen to yourself: it may be quite easy to fix it.

There is a myth that we all fall prey to: anything that matters must be difficult. If what we strive for were easy to get - a successful business or a happy life - why are only a few succeeding? In fact, we complicate the path to success ourselves.

Stop to step forward

Since childhood I have been a creative person and as a teenager I started writing songs. It was then that I became familiar with the idea of simplicity of form and content.

Once a teacher told me that what makes music special is not the sound of notes, but the pauses between them. The beauty is in what is not actually played. Intellectually, I understood what he meant, but did not grasp the very essence.

I have always felt a thirst for knowledge, studied more and more in order to diversify my music. By practicing guitar and keyboards, I tried to perfect ideas - and I made it harder. Perhaps this was the reason why my musical career did not work out.

After a while, I became interested in acting. I was absorbed in activities: I hired an agent, starred in short films, played in a play. But once again faced with fear, doubt, uncertainty, I hesitated. I tried to overcome anxiety: I mastered new techniques, got acquainted with different theories. But in reality, I was only complicating things. One more training course, just one book - and I will become a great actor!

I trained, read, watched master classes, until my head was filled with so many ideas that I completely forgot the most important thing: to be here and now, to interact with other actors.

Habit to complicate

In both cases, I complicated the circumstances so much that I didn't like everything. I tried to take control of everything. And although I knew that simplicity was the key to creating something truly beautiful, I couldn't stop.

When we get rid of unnecessary things, only purity and naturalness remain. She is always rich in energy, spirit and truth. I knew it, but I did not feel it with my heart. I was not firm enough and did not fully believe in this idea.

In a way, the habit of complicating things gave me a sense of security. I thought I was being productive and it helped me avoid doubts. But it is precisely with the escape from oneself that one must fight.

We convince ourselves of the complexity of things because it distracts us from our inner problems.

We are frightened by the prospect of being alone with ourselves. We are afraid that if we stop living in tension, we will not be happy with what will be revealed to us in these quiet moments. Yet it is in these moments that we can truly make progress.

When our consciousness is cleared and we are in agreement with who we really are - beyond all the views, experiences, beliefs that we have accumulated since birth - we become much more resourceful and flexible.

Letting go of the situation does not mean giving up

Lao Tzu wrote: "The pot is molded from clay, but it is the emptiness in it that is the essence of the pot."

The problem is that we don't give ourselves a break. We spin like a squirrel in a wheel, running away from emptiness.

It may seem that simplifying life will deprive us of certain joys. Maybe surrendering to the present moment will only throw us back, much further from the life we dream of.

In fact, this void fills our space pretty quickly. True, instead of the expected abyss, you are suddenly filled with love and confidence. And along with this comes clarity of mind, which promotes understanding and high efficiency.

By allowing ourselves to listen to inner silence, we achieve better results than when we get stuck and intensely ponder the situation.

I'm not suggesting sticking your head in the sand. I propose to realize that constant worries and doubts will never lead us to what we really want.

Over-complication never works for us, whether it’s writing music, acting, or planning for the future.

Free space for thoughts

When we stop the endless process of thinking and are in the present moment, the answer comes naturally. Why? Because there is finally a place for him.

Without empty space, our mind will be bogged down in old thoughts and ideas. These ideas are no longer useful to you, so why hope they ever come in handy? As Einstein wrote, insanity is repeating the same action over and over again, expecting a new result.

Tension and anxiety will not help you achieve what you want. The less we get stuck, the easier it is.

Do you want to learn how to move from empty thinking to solving problems? Slow down! Only by leaving free space, we gain clarity of thought and allow new ideas to emerge.

Each of us has innate wisdom

You don't need to master many techniques to achieve the desired result. It is enough to get rid of unnecessary things. Analyzing the situation endlessly, you only burden yourself. You will visualize yourself in the past, thinking about how you could have avoided the problem. Or in the future, which is frightening with the unknown.

The bottom line is that you only imagine the past and the future. In fact, you are living in the present moment!

Once you fully realize this, you will immediately feel oneness with yourself and find yourself in reality. Anxiety will be replaced by an understanding of what needs to be done right now.

This mindfulness is worth practicing throughout the day.

Take a walk in nature, set aside some free time for reflection: do not check your mail and do not answer calls for an hour.

Small pauses like this will allow you to gain clarity.

When we are calm and relaxed, it is easier to make decisions. By creating a peaceful and quiet space around us, we allow well-being to manifest in our lives and become who we always were: before worry swallowed us.

First of all, you become simple and whole. Yes, the same you, the real one, not burdened with a load of worries. Think about it: have you ever managed to solve a problem while under stress or fear? Isn't it true that the most ingenious ideas visited you when you were calm and thinking sensibly. Maybe when you were taking a shower or just walking?

Life Shouldn't Become a Struggle

If I had grasped this earlier, I might have become a much more successful musician or actor. Now I cannot change anything in the path traveled and, having understood this simple truth, I do not want to be anywhere else except here and now. In this particular moment.

Learn to trust yourself. When your head is free of restless thoughts, this does not mean that you have given up. On the contrary, it is the most correct state to allow new ideas to enter your life. By understanding this, you restore harmony and oneness with who you really are.

You are free to create, to do whatever will help you become at ease again. You free yourself from the desires of the ego and enjoy reality.

The decision to trust the silence will take courage on your part. But once you take the first step, you will feel that life is suddenly richer and much less complicated. The best of all possible paths will open to you.