‘Feel good’ addiction
‘Feel good’ addiction.
I had a big AHA moment this morning. I was watching a Super Soul Sunday episode where Oprah interviewed Diana Nyad. Diana swam from Cuba to Florida, it took her 53 hours and she is 64 years old!!! Wow is an understatement. No one else has done it before and everyone said it couldn’t be done. This was her fifth try, she just never, ever gave up. When she stumbled out on the beach in Florida, it was such a HUGE moment. Tears were streaming down onlookers’ faces as they applauded and made way for Diana to reach dry land. She walked slowly and deliberately and you could see it took every last bit of strength she had left. However, the appearance of her tired body was totally overshadowed by the power of the moment. Her exhausted body was screaming VICTORY! and even though I wasn’t there, I’m sure the feeling of it was palpable in the air. Here she was, physical proof that dreams do come true, that if you truly believe in yourself and work hard enough, anything is possible.
Social media bombards us every day with inspiring quotes and true stories about ordinary people who worked hard and overcame the most unfortunate circumstances to triumph over impossible odds. We read these stories on Facebook, websites and blogs, we watch video clips on youtube and listen to Ted talks. Without realizing it, we become addicted to the feeling of being inspired. And also without being aware, everyday we are on the lookout for our daily ‘fix’, the feel good stories to help us through the day. So we spend hours on Facebook or whatever our choice of ‘drug’ is, hoping to find the ‘one’ story that will change our lives so much that we will also go out and find our dream to work on. I don’t think this was the intention of these inspiring stories. These people tell their stories in order to inspire others, to tell them that it is possible for everyone to overcome the odds and make dreams come true. They sure would feel very disappointed if they knew their story was only good enough to last a few minutes, just until the next story was found.
The sad truth is that we often believe success stories are only for ‘other people’ and not for us. Why not? Do we believe that we don’t have what it takes? That successful people received some special gift that made it easier for them? During interviews it usually becomes very clear that there was no such special treatment, it took guts, hard work and perseverance and there is nothing special about that. Or is it a fear of failure and disappointment that keeps us stuck in our unfulfilled comfort zone? Or even the subconscious belief that we are not worthy, that we don’t deserve happiness and success?
When we find ourselves inspired but unable to take action in our own lives, it might be time for some introspection. Digging up and becoming aware of limiting beliefs might be all we need to do to shake off our inertia and start listening to that gnawing voice telling us to give it a go. We don’t all need to swim from Cuba to Florida and thank goodness for that!! Our dream may be to learn how to cook our own pasta, volunteer at a local community centre, travel somewhere exotic or enroll for a course that will prepare us for a career change. Whatever your unique dream is, take comfort from the fact that there are many success stories about and use them to actively inspire you into action, rather than just using them as a ‘fix‘ to keep you ‘fixed’ in your comfort zone.
I learned three things from Diana today: 1) Find a way. 2) Never, ever give up. 3) You are never too old to chase your dream.
I want to finish with a quote from Mary Oliver: “Tell me, what is your plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”