Monday Moment: Match point

Oh, fear. Say what you will, but we all know it well. It’s the force that quietly underlies so many of our “rational” choices, preventing us from taking risks, stretching our comfort zones and keeps us firmly rooted in playing to our known strengths. We feel it more often than we realize, or are willing to acknowledge. We ignore it often, and pretend we can conquer it by avoiding it. Meanwhile, there’s no better way to make any negative emotion grow than through neglect.

Solange has the right idea here, or at least a mindful one. Through learning to sit with uncomfortable feelings through mindfulness, we develop the ability to stare them in the face. We lose our discomfort with discomfort, and our fear of fear. We realize those feelings can only grow to the extent to which we are willing to feed them.

Energy flows where intention – and attention – goes. Don’t be afraid to use that truth strategically.

Photo credit: Sawyer Bengston