The Biggest Enemies You Have Are Your Fantasies
You become more and more quiet as you age. As you get older, life gradually humbles you. You become aware of the amount of useless time you have spent. When we were young we thought we had unlimited amount of time and energy. As we grew older, these resources began to deplete and we felt helpless.
Who among them is the largest producer of nonsense?
The delusions that your mind wants to project into every aspect of your life. You've probably dreamed your way into countless headaches and heartaches in the past. And you're not by yourself either.
Because of our dreams, we all experience tension.
Because of fantasies, we all put off tasks to the point of failure.
Because of fantasies, we all get angry—with ourselves, with others, and with the entire universe.
Because of fantasies, we all lose out on some of life's most breathtaking and serene moments.
At first, it could be difficult to believe this, so let's look at some extremely typical situations.
The only thing we are actually doing when we get up and start daydreaming and stressing about everything we have to do is adding stress to an otherwise enjoyable morning.
When we put off important possibilities for achievement because we are afraid of failing and delay as a result, our scared fantasies are forcing us to do so.
When someone offends us, it's frequently because they aren't acting in accordance with our idealised idea of how they "should" act. Therefore, the source of our irritation is not their behaviour but rather how it diverges from our fantasy.
The dream of how life will feel as we get healthier initially motivates us to make healthy changes in our lives (like getting in shape), but that's not how life actually works. Therefore, we quit up when the reality of putting in effort to exercise and eat healthfully emerges and doesn't line up with our motivating vision.
We sometimes lose the chance to connect more deeply with people when we are engaged in conversation because we are preoccupied with fantasies about how they perceive us or because we tend to formulate our responses before they have finished speaking.
We often miss the pleasant surprises and everyday joys around us because our minds are preoccupied daydreaming about different eras and locations.
The list keeps on.
Of course, there are occasions when we can put aside our personal thoughts for a while and concentrate on the here and now, but this does not happen frequently enough. Therefore, as often as required, remind yourself to observe the situation for what it is and not what you believe it should be. Accept it so you can utilise it to your advantage.
Get through each day and train yourself to accept life as it is...
Do what needs to be done without second-guessing yourself, fretting about what might go wrong, or bemoaning how challenging your work is. Simply start, move forward incrementally, and exert your best effort.
Accept people as they are and refrain from passing unnecessary judgement on them. Decide not to let their actions take over your thoughts and feelings. Stay calm and tolerant, just be. then choose if you want to stay with them longer. If not, peacefully sever ties.
Wherever you go, bring your presence with you. Enjoy the little things in life. Remind yourself that there aren't many things in life that can compare to the delight of a good laugh, a good story, a morning stroll, an afternoon hug, or a deep breath at the end of the day.
In the end, no matter how much we imagine, reality remains the same. Let's therefore swap out our dreams for total presence.
And we put all of our effort into what we have right now.
All images and contents are copyrighted to me @rocksg
