Serious Stoicism and Fear-Based Training

I have seen this video before and it didn't hit me as hard as it did last night, when I wondered if we all fear doing what we want to do--for reasons like what if I only think I'll like it, but then don’t like it at all or what if I suck at it or what if I fail miserably and have wasted all this time on a dream that I was unsure about in the first place? (I hate wasting time). But the biggest, and weirdest fear we sometimes have is what if I hate what I think I love?

But, what if you love that you think you'll hate?

We need to call ourselves out on all the crap we've been worried about. I was pretty upset today about admittedly little things, and my blog being titled TWIGd (implying forceful optimism), forced me to look at the big picture--as the Dalai Lama consistently suggests so that we don’t get caught up in little messes we create in our heads. But, I kept resisting: You cant just look at the big picture! The big picture is made up of little things, so you must focus on the little things! And then, I realized:

It doesn't start with the little things. It always starts with the big picture.

BIG PICTURE (floating around in head) + little thing + little thing + little thing = BIG PICTURE (Reality)

Great visual, right?

Don’t forget the #1 Dalai Lama Rule : "great love and great achievements involve great risk." I know you've heard it 1,000 times, so do it already. 

Meanwhile, feel free to join me in facing fears. Leave some comments (or shoot me an email through the contact page) to tell me what fears you've overcome and how you've done it. You're an inspiration to many.