It’s fascinating to observe this whole idea of growth taking place outside the comfort zone. Secondly, the fact that we all recognize that everything we desire has been conveniently been placed on the other side of some scary, challenging obstacle. So we reach the understanding that success comes to those that choose to conquer the obstacle or fight the scary demon.

So in my personal experience and that of coaching thousands of others, is that the scariest and most difficult part of these obstacles is not in the actual overcoming of them. It’s in the build-up and contemplative thoughts of them. The pregame. When we are in pregame and thinking about the challenge, we have an internal war going on that pulls on past beliefs about ourselves coupled with the past knowledge from experiences and movies or tv that paint this horrific picture making the obstacles way more than they are.

My RISE UP called the Gate-less Gate is a good example of this. The concept of seeing something and perceiving that it’s blocking you and holding you back only to find it was a figment of your programmed imagination.

So, let’s just say we spend a lot of time in cautious contemplation of decisions connected to taking on challenges that are scary or difficult. Why? We fear failure, success, and shame our own levels of competency. Then subconsciously, we fear wasting time with foolish pipe dreams of undeserved unrealistic new levels of success. All connected to our wiring from thousands of years ago where a mistake in moving forward to face a challenge meant your life. I get it. However, here’s another interesting observation that I’ve both experienced and observed in others that do choose to face their fears, do the hard work. Be afraid and do it anyway.

They almost all report that the perceived fire-breathing dragon 🐉, or the challenge, was nowhere near as scary and difficult as they thought. Many reports enjoying the challenge and a new level of confidence. I’m fact, many decide to go after even bigger challenges. They become challenge junkies after they uncover this formula. The Stoics refer to this process as the Obstacle being the way.

So what’s the lesson and strategy to breaking through?

It’s not as complicated as you thought. It’s most often a simple act of showing up. That’s right. The act of just showing up to confront these scary demons usually prompts them to disappear. Or unveil that they were never there and only existed in your programmed mind and imagination. Almost like stepping into a thick fog and instantaneously seeing it disappear and unveil the next step or clue. This takes a leap of faith, yes. As well as some trust in this observation I’m sharing. But if you desire growth and growing up...you might want to start showing up.