let go of the illusion of struggle

[This essay is an excerpt from my book, Elevation.]

“When you’re following your energy and doing what you want all the time, the distinction between work and play dissolves.”

— Shakti Gawain

We are all bombarded with the notion that there are two phases of any kind of successful journey: a ‘period of struggle’ and then the ‘overnight success’. Truth be told, both of these notions are false. We think of struggling times as painful, dark, and unusually long. It is synonymous with being uncomfortable and a process that takes a lot of time and energy out of us.

The definition of “struggle” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is:

1. to make strenuous or violent efforts in the face of difficulties or opposition
2. to proceed with difficulty or with great effort 

But if you’re doing something that brings you immense joy and satisfaction to you then the falsely perceived difficult times cannot be called struggle. Quite frankly, It’s just you having fun and figuring out things. We are not straining or restricting ourselves, but instead, we feel free and expansive. Every failure is a feedback to correct our course to go towards where we want to go. Struggling times are a figment of our minds. The more we think of them, the more difficult our journey becomes.

Enjoy the process, enjoy the ride! When things are difficult, when you feel overwhelmed, when you feel all the energy out of you is sapped out just relax and take it easy.  Take a step back! It’s not about figuring everything out right now. Have faith, things will work out eventually.

The journey to success is fun, easy and effortless. Whenever we create something whether it be a presentation, a book or a software, there’s a part of us that we leave in it. When we pour our heart and soul into the work that we do, there is nothing more satisfying to see our creations come to reality. We feel a profound joy that cannot be described in words!

There may come times when we may start thinking that our journey is flawed and we’re running out of patience because manifestations take some time to show up in our physical reality.  But those times are a test for us to prove our passion, perseverance, and resilience. 

No matter what other people tell you, don’t let their voices get in your head.  The worst thing that we can do for ourselves is to compare our lives and success with others’. Everyone has their own journey and measure of success. Getting caught up with what other people are doing and experiencing will affect our productivity and mindset. Get inspired by other people’s success, and when you have ignited your desires, focus on your path and on taking necessary actions. 

Embrace your best creative self. There will be tons of temptations and distractions but all we have to do is just focus on our path. There’s nothing called struggle, it’s all about embracing and enjoying the journey. Our desires will keep on changing and keep on increasing. All we have to do is embrace the eternal incompleteness of ourselves and the work that we do. Always believe that the present is perfect as it is.