Let it go

Did you know that the season of Lent has officially begun? This is the time of year when a lot of people around the world celebrate the life and death of Jesus by sacrificing or giving something up for 40 days. I know we’re 2 weeks into it, but I’m still mulling over what it means to give something up.

I’ve never really been good at Lent. I always kind of miss it and then let the chance to give something up pass me by. To me, I guess it’s not that big of a deal. I already feel like I’ve “given up” several common offenders that people often choose to sacrifice during this time.

I rarely watch TV, I don’t drink soda, I hardly eat out, I don’t smoke, occasionally drink, sugar does not have a strong hold on me, and clothing is not an option at this point or maybe ever. Just kidding. Or am I? You’ll never know.

Even though I’m several days late in the game, I decided to give up something for Lent that I’ve never given up before: fear.

Or known by another name as Resistance.

To be really, really honest with you, this thing is a crazy beast in me and it’s time – high time – that it left my life. This is going to be a major challenge for me. I once heard that the bigger and more awesome your desires in life are, the bigger and more freaky the Resistance will be. It makes sense. I have a lot of big, big dreams and goals that I’m trying to create in my life and I keep seeing this fear and resistance manifest itself in several different ways.

In the Pressfieldian mode of thinking, one of the most ugly and persistent ways Fear and Resistance shows up in life is through the mechanism of self-sabotage. One of the ways that I am sabotaging myself is by willfully sleeping in and dilly dallying around in the morning when I know I could be busting out some awesome, world changing, spiritual gangster creations. Which would make me really, really happy. But instead I act like setting the alarm an hour earlier is this mysterious, highly technical, mentally rigorous process. And yes, I have an iPhone. So you know this is total BS.

What I’ve discovered about “self-evolution” is it’s the simple tweaks and small adjustments that we put off for long periods of time that could bring us the results we want so badly. It’s not the broad strokes, “mega-workouts”, and fad diets that make our lives better. It’s the ‘one-foot-in-front-of-the-other’ things that do the heavy lifting of change.

Unfortunately, it’s our emotions and fears that fly under the radar that prevent us from making these simple adjustments. And it’s these exact same fears and emotions that trick us into believing that broad strokes will create the change we desperately want.

So, what I’m giving up is an hour of sleep in the morning. I’m giving up my fear that I’ll never make anything good of myself. I’m saying that I’m going to get up an hour earlier to thwart this fear, resistance and self-sabotage. I’m going to do this for 40 days and let you know how it works out. I’m grinning from ear to ear right now because I already feel the beast cackling in the corner saying “You’ll never get up at 6 o’clock 40 days in a row”.

But like all gremlins, you just have to put them in their place. How? Feel the fear and do it anyway.

If you feel like it, let me know what you gave up for Lent in the comments. Or if you’ve never given anything up for Lent, what are you inspired to give up?