And if you apply it, it could work miracles in your life.
The universe always speaks to me through numbers.
The number 11 appears everywhere when something changes abruptly in my life.
But one time, the universe did it directly.
I had just meditated, and an unfamiliar but familiar voice spoke inside my head, “Be Strong and of Good Courage.” Said that voice, after which — as if it was the GIF of Obama dropping the microphone — he left.
The tone of that voice had warmth and conviction. And I couldn’t get those three words out of my mind, “Be strong and of good courage.”
In time, with amazement, I discovered that those words are in the scriptures.
Joshua 1:9. Be strong and of good courage
At that moment, I took the message to heart.
I tried hard; I was brave. And as a result, my life improved.
Applying those two words to my life got me out of hell.
The truth is hidden in plain sight.
Years after that voice spoke those words to me, and I applied them to my life consistently; I began to connect the dots and discovered what the universe was trying to communicate to me.
Hold on, this is going to blow your mind.
The universe didn’t want to teach me the obvious, that the brave who work hard achieve great things.
The universe wanted to give me a compass to escape hell and never get lost again.
The universe didn’t want to feed me; it wanted to teach me how to fish so I could be self-sufficient.
Opposites are the true revelations.
When the universe gives you advice, don’t just think about what it has told you. Think about its opposite.
In my case,
- The opposite of being brave is being afraid.
- The opposite of striving is being lazy.
But you can only be brave if you face what you fear. And you can only exert yourself when you do something that gives you a lot of resistance to do.
That’s how the compass works.
Steven Pressfield explained it better than I did recently in a podcast.
The famous author told his interviewer that after decades of writing, he had discovered that everything he was lazy to do (caused him resistance) was precisely what he had to do; it was the way to go.
To make the interviewer understand, Steven grabbed a bottle of water, held it up to the light of a lamp, and pointed to the shadow cast on the table where the interview was being conducted.
He told the interviewer that the shadow was the resistance we experience when we think about doing certain things. And that the shadow gets longer, the more light there is behind those things we know we have to do.
Conclusion
The real opportunity of your life is right behind that which generates the most resistance.
- It could be writing a book.
- It could be starting a podcast.
- It could be going back to college.
In my case, it was starting from scratch, writing in another language.
The point is that if you feel a big contradiction between the dream (what you think you should do) and the desire to do it, that’s what you have to do. Because behind that dream is where you will find the most value.
In my case, the articles I am most lazy to write and most afraid to publish because I expose myself a lot are the ones that work best.
Takeaway
Make a list of little things you want to do: run, join the gym, ask that special someone out, clean the house, apply for that new job, etc.
Reflect on which of those things generates the most resistance or fear.
And deal with what generates more resistance because, behind that shadow (resistance), you will find a lot of light. And that light is capable of changing your life.
A virtual hug.
AG