Embracing Action Over Fear: Getting Out Of The Mind

If we spend our lives living within our mind, then we are not actually living.

I recently asked myself the question “what kind of writer are you?”

Throughout my life I have studied and appreciated various writing styles, particularly lyrical writings for music. So much so that I would often feel so moved by a song that I would claim ownership over it. I would obsess and aim to find the meaning behind every lyric. And this a beautiful expression of a hobby, but, as someone who has always been an expert at hiding behind others, a way to conveniently avoid taking action, it’s time I look more deeply at what’s beneath this obsession.

And as I reflect, I see how easily we can mask our own desire to take action and create through taking a seat as a consumer of others' work. Maybe we do this when we are not ready to admit to ourselves that we want to create. Maybe we do this because we are afraid of failure or worse, we don’t believe in ourselves. 

What does the fear of the truth, failure and lack of self trust all have in common? They all live within the mind. They could not exist without our mind. They are all thoughts and experiences held within our mind. 

And if we spend our lives living within our mind, then we are not actually living in reality. 

Reality is where we all want to be. It’s where the seasons change, love blossoms and connections are formed. 

So, why do we so often sit on the sidelines? Closely watching and examining those who are taking action and living the dream we want to be living?

Is it because we are deeply afraid of what others think? Is it because we are afraid to confront our mortality and the truth of the universe? I’d say we can all relate to both, but the latter is certainly true for all of us.

Through my own experience existing as a human and among other humans, I have an inkling that many of us live our life on the sidelines because we are afraid. Afraid of making the wrong decision, afraid of veering off the safe path, afraid of making mistakes.

But what if all these things we were afraid of, simply weren’t possible? Because guess what?

They aren’t possible in reality.

They are only possible in our mind.

The fear of all the above is rooted in the mind, not reality. So while these may be true in your mind, they are not true in reality.

We all walk around believing made up thoughts, including me, and if we go too long believing these, it stops us from truly living.

And by believing made up thoughts, I mean: living in a fictitious reality that no one can experience but you.

Remember when I mentioned that I found comfort in living behind the identity of someone who loves lyrics as a way to avoid taking the plunge and dedicating time to writing in fear of being “bad” at it?

For years, I have walked around believing that, if I write, I probably won’t be very good, and certainly not anywhere near as good as those I’ve admired.

So this has led me to inaction and with inaction, I gained conviction in my thoughts that actively worked against me. Causing me to stare at a blank screen, and give up. 

However, I am aware that if I am thinking, it means I am in the mind - my mind. And you know a great way to get out of your mind is? It’s by taking action, doing, getting involved. Because if you’re focused on the bat hitting the ball that is being pitched, you can’t be in your mind.

I get it, we can easily get stuck in our mind about “How do I take action?”, we can’t think about taking action…

Action is a movement, an experience, anything but a thought. It is freedom from thought.

In the wise words of Nike

Just do it.

If I kept thinking about what I should write, as I began writing this, you wouldn’t be reading it. Because I would still be thinking about it.

So if I can break my own in-action through writing this, you can find a way to take a step today, to break your own in-action. I’ve even committed to sending this email out to all of you every Monday (we will continue to send one out on Wednesday too), I’ve even gone as far to commit to include a weekly poem or reflection (See below).

And for what type of writer I am? I’d say I’m an active writer, as opposed to someone who thinks about writing.

I’ll see you all next week <3

Weekly Poem

This week’s poem embodies themes of forgiveness, self compassion, and self love. All too often we forget that in order for us to truly love, we must first love ourselves. We often meet this journey with resistance and judgment due to the open wounds within us - but it is only with self compassion that we can mend our wounds, learn to love and live fully.