Here’s a quick story to inspire you to overcome fear – so you can bravely go about your day with courage to do hard things. If you want to live a life you love you must develop “mental toughness” and confidence. This story encourages you to make the right choices with tough decisions.
For many reasons, fear should be re-named…
After all, fear is constantly interfering with you getting what you want in life.
Here’s a quick symbolic fable on this subject, excerpted from my best selling book, “How To Be Happy Dammit.”
There once was this criminal who had committed a crime.
(Because, hey, that’s what criminals do. That’s their job!)
Anyway, he was sent to the king for his punishment.
The king told him he had a choice of two punishments.
He could be hung by a rope.
Or take what’s behind the big, dark, scary, iron door.
The criminal quickly decided on the rope.
As the noose was being slipped on him, he turned to the king and asked:
“By the way, out of curiosity, what’s behind that door?”
The king laughed and said:
“You know, it’s funny, I offer everyone the same choice, and nearly everyone picks the rope.”
“So,” said the criminal, “Tell me. What’s behind the door? I mean, obviously, I won’t tell anyone,” he said, pointing to the noose around his neck.
The king paused then answered:
“Freedom, but it seems most people are so afraid of the unknown that they immediately take the rope.”
It’s a powerful reminder about how so many of us cling to the familiar.
Yes, unfortunately, too many of us live our lives choosing the familiarity of our rope (aka: familiar pain, familiar struggle, familiar patterns).
Too many of us are far too fearful of going for the unknown alternative – the freedom of picking new choices for being and doing – new choices which can open the door to our ultimate happiness.
Alan Watts, said it well when he said: “Our lives are one long effort to resist the unknown.”
We’re a planet full of folks walking around with metaphysical ropes around our necks, wondering why we feel a bit emotionally/ spiritually dead to the world around us.
Today decide to finally take off those ropes that bind you – and blind you!
Start bravely opening up those doors which lead to the unfamiliar – knowing that you are also headed towards freedom, growth, and greater joy. You’ll see.
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Hi I’m Karen Salmansohn, founder of NotSalmon. My mission is to offer you easy-to-understand insights and tools to empower you to bloom into your happiest, highest potential self. I use playful analogies, feisty humor, and stylish graphics to distill big ideas – going as far back as ancient wisdom from Aristotle, Buddhism and Darwin to the latest research studies from Cognitive Therapy, Neuro Linquistic Programming, Neuroscience, Positive Psychology, Quantum Physics, Nutritional Studies – and then some.
