Refusing the call

Refusing the call

Our next section is that the hero at first hesitates to leave on his journey. This section focuses on fears, insecurities, and feelings of inadequacy.

For me, I know I refuse to leave on my journey to look for new careers because I am scared that I may find something worse. I may bring Laura somewhere where she is not happy. I might not be successful in my new endeavor. What if we don't have as good of a home as we have now? What if we don't see family as much?

In the mythic stories, not going is not an option. Our hero must accept, otherwise something of great significance will be jeopardized.

If I take my insecurities listed above, and apply a mindfulness mindset (thanks Michelle!) I can really start to calm these worries. Even develop a need to set out on my journey. What if my job that I am doing now becomes obsolete? What if layoffs happen and I haven't reached out to network with others?

Perhaps I need to write about mindfulness in general. This is a new topic to me that I am still working on understanding. Typically people use the term meditate. For some reason, I have a different connotation when I think of meditation, perhaps because I typically think of it in a religious sense. By mindful, I mean that each moment is lived in the present. Have you ever driven to work, to the grocery store, and found yourself lost in your thoughts? All of a sudden you are turning into the parking lot and don't remember how you drove the past few miles, like your car has been on autopilot. This is the opposite of being mindful. You have let time slip by while your mind was wandering about the past or the future, all while missing out on the present moment. The art of being mindful allows us to be present and aware of every precious moment in life.

I will work on a blog post for techniques to help be more mindful. If you have any to share, I would love to learn. Stay tuned!