As he sets sail, Odysseus passes Circe's counsel on to his men. They approach the island of the lovely Sirens, and Odysseus, as instructed by Circe, plugs his men's ears with beeswax and has them bind him to the mast of the ship.
Even though he knew that the Sirens would lure his sailors to danger in the island's reefs,
Odysseus was curious and wanted to listen to the Sirens. However, he had plugged the ears of his men, so they would not hear the Sirens songs or Odysseus' requests to turn towards the island's reef.
The Sirens voice is Resistance. Resistance is the fear of failure or success. It is that seductive voice that lures you away from finally starting to live your dream or what you were meant to do in life.
Learn to beating Resistance and find your true calling.
Have you ever bought one of those abdominal crunch machines and brought it home only to let it collect dust? Or perhaps joined a gym and end up not going to the gym? Or stop short of starting a business you wanted to do? What about some kind of philanthropic thing you said you'd do in the future but never got around to it? What is stopping you is called Resistance.Awareness of this negative force called Resistance helps you tremendously in battling Resistance. Resistance is that voice in your head telling you that today is NOT the day to do it because it's either not the best time, your kids soccer match is today, or you aren't completely financially comfortable.
Once there is such a thing as Resistance and you realize that it is not a real voice, it is easier to dismiss it at and just keep going.
What happens if you just ignore Resistance and let it win?
You lose your entire life. The resistance is the negative opposite reaction to what your soul's calling is. If you were born to be a warrior or coach then you will feel resistance to that. If you listen to that voice and you don't do it then you lose your calling. How many people work jobs where they are only in it for the money? Then when they look back, they realize they just wasted all that time pursuing something they didn't care so much for.A well-known therapist has a theory on patients that are diagnosed with terminal cancer. Their whole life image changes and suddenly they focus on what is really important and what isn't. They have some kind of prolific realization of when they were a kid they enjoyed painting or arts. But, instead they put their dreams on the shelf and became a lawyer or got their MBA. The therapist would encourage them to follow their dreams. Surprisingly enough, some of the cancers actually go into remission at that point. Is it possible that we get cancer because we don't do what we were born to do?
Have you heard of the authentic golf swing? The idea that your golf swing is already there as a kid and is different from everyone else. Take a look at Tiger Woods' golf swing and how it looked when he was kid compared to how it looks now. It's nearly the same style. Similarly, kids are born into this world with their own personalities and everyone is difference from one another.
The idea of that you can be anything you want to be is a bit crazy. If you are 4'11 the chances of you becoming a professional basketball player are slim. But you can be great at a lot of other things. The idea is to become the best version of your authentic self. Find that calling and then get out of your own way. Go for it!
Ask yourself, what is your thing? Embrace that and then cultivate that. What brings you joy? What is your unique ability? What are you called to do? What is your true calling? The answer goes back to is what do you feel resistance to? What activity produces the deepest terror and that's what you need to do.
Learn the concept of turning professional.
Make that mental shift from looking at something as an avocation and turn it into a vocation. This is the shift from the point of view of a weekend warrior versus a real warrior. The professional attitude keeps you from becoming impatient and taking things too personally failures or successes. The professional goes at it hardcore with a no BS attitude. As a professional, you go at it day in and day out. That's what you do and you are not dependent on external praise. You can fail, but just keep going. Follow your views and stars. There will be a lot of resistance, but embrace it. This is normal and the more you feel resistance then the more important it is for you to do it. Stay in a place where you are putting yourself in a place of discomfort. Not a place where you are safe and be like oh I've done this before and I know how to do this. Jump in like you would do when you were in your early twenties and abandon everything, give it your all, and hope for the best. It gets harder as you get older because you know when it's not going to work out. But so what? What do you have to lose? You may have a lot to lose but be willing for the pitfall.