Upgrade Your Life
Stop Fearing Your Higher Self
Welcome to the free edition of YouTopian Journey, a Substack featured publication. Each week I will be sharing unique wisdom that can help you in the daily battles that we must all fight in the game of life. This week we discuss why you must upgrade your life.
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THE AGE OF FEAR
“Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are your own fears.”-Rudyard Kipling
We live in an age of anxiety, an age of uncertainty, and an age of fear. We are fearful of the housing market, fearful of the job market, fearful of inflation, fearful of our leaders, fearful of our bosses, fearful of the future, and fearful of the unknown. We are afraid of taking chances, afraid of standing out, and afraid of failing. This echoes the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote in Self-Reliance:
“We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Not much has changed since Emerson wrote those words, except that society has become more fearful and weaker. And the greatest fear the modern individual faces?
The fear of actually succeeding in our endeavors! The fear of becoming something more than we currently are.
Yes!
We are fearful of what we can become! The possibilities of success that await us! The realization that our inner fantasies will become outer realities!
We are afraid of our own greatness!
We cannot possibly imagine the consequences of our own success because of the difficulties and fears that stand before us.
We talked about the importance of courage in the past, but one cannot engage in courageous behavior without discussing fear. Not the fear found in some shadowy abyss, but the fear within our own possibilities. The fear that exists within our potentialities and capabilities of truly becoming so much more than what we are.
Realize that the individual is capable of anything, but the majority operate at such a low capacity that their potentialities are dulled. They waste the opportunities that are before them. Wasted minutes turn into wasted hours and then wasted days. So much time wasted and so many opportunities avoided. All from a refusal to embrace the possibilities within! All of this stemming from fear.
The result of this fear? Many remain frozen in place, not for a season, but for life. A true tragedy.
Do not be one of them!
“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson
FEAR OF YOUR HIGHER SELF
"They fear their higher self, because when it speaks, it speaks demandingly.”-Nietzsche
We can accept the fear that comes with the dark, but what about the fear that comes with the light? The individual who endeavors to achieve their greatest potential must be capable of accepting the possibility of what they are truly capable of becoming. This can be such a frightening thought that there is a term for it, the Jonah Complex. Put forth by Abraham Maslow, the Jonah complex is defined as “the fear of success or the fear of being one's best which prevents self-actualization, or the realization of one's own potential.” Essentially, the individual becomes fearful of their own greatness and exercising one’s talents. More importantly, it is the evasion of one’s destiny. The name is a reference to Jonah from the Old Testament, who fled from his destiny.
“We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under the most perfect conditions, under conditions of great courage. We enjoy and even thrill to the godlike possibilities we see in ourselves in such peak moments. And yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these very same possibilities. So often, we run away from the responsibilities dictated, or rather suggested by nature, by fate, even sometimes by accident, just as Jonah tried in vain to run away from his fate.”-Abraham Maslow, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature.
The Jonah Complex results from our inability, our outright refusal, to realize just what we are capable of becoming. We put ourselves down before the rest of the world has a chance to even encounter us. Perhaps there is an inner fear that you will be seen as a fraud, as an imposter, as someone that is self-centered and arrogant. Or, maybe, this astonishing life that will result from your actions will not be accepted by society at large. You will give into the thoughts of the crowd who cannot believe your meteoric rise from whom you are in the present, to whom you can become in the future.
This is not a recent phenomenon. Throughout human history and across all cultures, the crowd has always been there. The anonymous authority, the mediocre majority, the people who question your dreams and desires.
They feed your hesitations. They laugh at your ideas. They cast doubt on your abilities. This provides a fertile ground for an inner chatter that will align itself with this majority. This inner chattering will prevent you from the future you dream of and deserve. Soon your own mind could be against you, and that is a civil war that few can win.
So, what then?
Simple.
Cease the meaningless chatter of the mind!
Believe in yourself!
Do not give into these false fears that have been implanted. You were made for so much more! Remember the wise words of Joan of Arc:
“I am not afraid. It was for this that I was born.”
You must believe in yourself, knowing that whatever you are capable of is truly what you deserve. Leave the members of the mediocre majority to doubt themselves and their powers. Let them be content with being an underachiever, with their lackluster existence. Let them remain chained to their phones and asleep at the wheel of life. You are different. You know what you can do, and you know what you deserve.
Because something amazing begins to happen when you embrace your future capabilities.
You grow into the person you were meant to become. You become stronger. You break free of the fetters that society has placed on you.
You become a warrior, one who has not banished fear, but who has embraced the strength to temper it.
And when that metamorphosis is complete, fear will no longer constrain you. It will no longer set limits on you. It will be something that will still remain present, but whose power over you will be mitigated.
“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.”-Otto Rank
TAKE BOLD AND FEARLESS ACTION
“All men have fears, but the brave put them down and go forward, sometimes to death, but always to victory.”-Dale Carnegie
The only way to achieve your goals is through bold and fearless action. This bold and fearless action is a requirement and cannot be avoided. It is up to you to embrace such behavior!
Yes, you reading these very words!
Understand that the pandemic has left the world confused, angry, mentally fatigued, and even more fearful than before. We don’t need any more people who wish to cower. Instead, we need people who are on the path, who want to better themselves, who want to take action and transform their situations through fearless action!
“Only boldness can deliver from fear. And if the risk is not taken, the meaning of life is somehow violated, and the whole future is condemned to hopeless staleness.”-Carl Jung
Life is different for the bold, for those who take action. These individuals do not possess an immunity from fear. Instead, they possess a power that allows them to engage in actionable behavior despite their fears. Where the mediocre cower, the bold and action driven individual goes forward.
No one is born with this power. Instead, it is cultivated through practice, each and every day. These people appear superhuman to us. Yet in reality, you are capable of such behavior. But only if you truly want it. And trust me, you must want it!
“Boldness governed by superior intellect is the mark of a hero.”-Carl von Clausewitz, On War.
Why?
Because we need people like you, now more than ever. People that walk their own path, people that are focused on the future. People that can stake their existence on a life of fearless action, not remain in the shadows of mediocrity out of the fear of ridicule that may result from their peers.
"The man who fears ridicule will never go far, for good or ill: he remains on this side of his talents, and even if he has genius, he is doomed to mediocrity."-Emil Cioran
As with everything in life, it comes down to you.
Will you embrace your fear instead of fleeing from it?
Will you confront your fear instead of dulling it to sleep with distractions?
Are you willing to engage in bold and fearless behavior?
Can the world count on you to embrace your highest potential?
I hope so. I know you can do it, right here, and right now!
Start this very moment to work toward the best version or yourself, breaking through fear and mediocrity, and realizing that you are capable of anything, so long as you are not afraid.
"Those who are animated by hope can perform what would seem impossibilities to those who are under the depressing influence of fear."-Maria Edgeworth
ARE YOU READY TO UPGRADE YOUR LIFE?
“Something that is not done at that time and at that place will remain unfinished for a lifetime.”-Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Are you ready to take the bold step forward?
Are you ready to battle your inner fears?
Are you ready to change your life for the better?
Are you ready to make a meager investment of pennies so you can live a life that reaps infinite rewards?
Then become a paid subscriber and unlock the full YouTopian Journey experience. For the price of a latte, you upgrade your life with content that will benefit you for years to come. Paid subscribers get full access to the archives, behind the scenes material, and full access to new issues each and every Sunday.
If you know someone who could benefit from this issue, please share it. We need forward thinking and courageous individuals who can put their creativity to use and benefit not only their peers, but society at large.
There is a lot of cool stuff on the horizon. If you want to be involved and help the community grow, drop me a comment. You can also comment on what you thought of the issue. It truly makes me happy to see how my work is motivating, inspiring, and helping you in your endeavors.
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I’m Shaun Gold and if you are reading this, you are already on your journey. Catch you Sunday.
Treat everyone with respect ( at least until they give you grounds for not doing so). Waiters, taxi drivers, girls on the cash till, cleaners. Make it yr habit to be pleasant. Make it a challenge to raise a smile in the people around you. In short BE GENEROUS not mean spirited. That will upgrade your life x 100.
Be realistic with your plan. How much time, energy and finances do you have to invest in it? Budget options could be resources such as books, online courses, networking with others who inspire you, etc. rather than high ticket programs and 1-to-1 coaching.