I hate it when things get complicated. Complicated is just another word for difficult. And difficult is often followed by mistakes, failure and a lot of other unpleasant things.
So what most of us (and by that I mean I) usually do , as soon as something starts getting difficult is that we just quit. Be it either mentally or for real. But the biggest problem is that the mental part usually follows a lot sooner than the for real part.
It takes quite some time for most of us to finally pull the trigger. Pulling the trigger is just way too scary. So instead of a quick cut we usually drag decisions along, which ultimately leads to being unhappy, pissed off at other people and us hating the stuff we do and sometimes even our lives.
But I feel that there's another perspective we should take into consideration (among many other things). The perspective that the things that are now getting difficult were somehow important to us not too long ago. Things we cared about deeply. That really interested us.
Be it the new job we don't like that much anymore, which we liked a lot not too long ago.
Be it the new relationship we want to get out of that we really enjoyed not too long ago.
Be it the new skill or language we started learning a while ago and don't feel like going on anymore.
There usually happens quite a fascinating thing in our brains (or wherever) after we started doing something new. Something we initially cared about. Something we initially cared enough to put some effort into it.
And it happens in a part of our brains that developed back in the days when we were still hunters and gatherers. A time when we were not yet at the top of the food chain. A time when we had to be very cautious about our surroundings. A time where every noise might have been something to put our lives at risk.
After all, there were a hell lot of predators out there. And to make sure that we don't put ourselves into too much danger we developed the amygdala, the so called lizard brain.
Back in the days it was responsible for our basic survival instincts, e.g. running away when we hear an unknown noise and so on. Such as a tiger about to attack us.
If you want to know more about that part of our brain and how it works, feel free to check Wikipedia. I'm not a real scientist, even though sometimes I pretend I am.
And these days this part of the brain is barely needed anymore. But it still tries to keep us safe and protects us from dangerous and harmful situations. The only difference is that most of the situations we get ourselves into today aren't really life threatening anymore. Still, the lizard brain is fighting for survival.
So what it still does today is that it wants us to run away from every unknown situation. Every situation that might be harmful to us. That might put us in danger.
And every time we start to go deeper into a subject that really matters to us, our lizard brain starts to kick in and fills our brains with all sorts of fears, doubts and maybe even regrets. Every time something starts to become difficult it tries to convince us that it's just too dangerous.
That we should quit. That we should leave the road less traveled and go back and follow the conventional path. The path that's easy, convenient and seemingly safe. All the lizard brain wants is to survive. So it does everything to get back to safety.
It wants to protect us from failure. It wants to protect us from failing and falling into a deep hole. Because that's what's likely going to happen if something you truly and deeply care about doesn't work out.
Regardless of all that failure porn that's currently going on, failure or messing something up you really care about hurts. Quite a lot actually. And it can be quite devastating.
Be it that business that fails and burns. That job you somehow start to hate. Or that relationship that's slowly but steadily approaching its expiration date. It's not easy. Never.
And that's why you need to fight even more, once things start getting difficult. You shouldn't give in to that voice in your head that wants to protect you from unknown things. From potentially dangerous situations. Or failure.
What's going to happen if you constantly give in to that voice in your head is that you'll never take any risk. That you'll never experience anything remarkable. That you'll never be able to really fall in love. That you'll ultimately live a mediocre life and never achieve anything great.
So once you hit that point where fear, doubt and that voice in your head start to kick in you need to keep on pushing. No matter what. You need to keep on pushing because all of those things kicking in are a clear sign that you truly and deeply care about the thing at hand.
And one should never give up anything that touches ones heart only because it starts getting difficult at one point or the other. One should fight even harder than ever before.
Because this rare feeling doesn't come very often in life. No matter what area of life we're talking about..
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