You Are Infinite

You are amazing. You can be anything that you choose to be.

You are infinite. Your beliefs define the possibility and potential of your existence. Your actions create powerful ripples that shape the world around you.

You are blue, green, red, mangenta and brown. You are that vaguely orange-ish color found on the side of a old, sun-faded box of Wheaties.

You are wondering what sort of trippy drug I'm on, and a part of you is rationalizing this message away. A part of you is saying that you are NOT infinite, because of blah blah blah. A part of you is thinking, "Erik, dude! Life is hard, I'm doing my best, stop trying to talk like you're Richard F'ing Simmons or something."

So let's address this doubting, rational part of yourself.

"Hey, doubting rational part of (insert name here)! Would you like a cookie? It's right here under this box. Oh man, it's so yummy and gooey and ... (box snaps down on top of your doubting, rational self)."

All right, awesome. Now let's take this doubting, rational part of yourself and tie it up in a burlap sack. Stomp on it a bit! (It's all right, it's expecting bad things to happen. You're just fulfilling its martyr complex fantasies). Now, take that burlap sack and bury it in the back yard for six months. We're going to turn it into emotional kimchi!

Awesome! Now let's get back to it, without any distractions! :)

You are amazing, and infinite, and you are filled with the light of possibility and potential. How do I know this? Because it's the birthright of every human being. And you're a human being, right?

Our ancient ancestors lived in the moment, and were much more mindful of their moment-by-moment existence. They didn't worry about things like 'can I do this' or 'how will I ever create my antelope art on the cave wall, if my muse isn't speaking to me?'. They didn't take prozac, nor did they seem to need it! Our ancient ancestors operated much more out of the intuitive parts of their brain, which is a source of joy and a wellspring of inspiration.

We live in a very different world now, and the same state of mind just won't work well today. It's hard to live in the intuitive and mindful part of your brain, if you also enjoy eating and keeping a roof over your head. So we can't live the same way that our ancient ancestors did.

However, that doesn't mean that we need to swing all the way to the other extreme :)

Our society is structured to keep us tied down by the doubting, rational parts of our brains. The underlying rule of our society is that if you want to eat and have shelter, then you need to get a job and do what you're told. The rule is that if you want to engage in creative, self-actualizing work then you need to jump through a LOT of hoops like go to college for 10 years, engage in a risky entrepreneurial venture, or resolve yourself to a life of ramen noodles and artistic struggle.

What I'm telling you is, it doesn't have to be this way.

You don't need to change society in order to find a creative, joyful and self-actualized vocation. You need to change yourself. And this change begins when you take one small, fearless step forward into the infinite.

There's a crack in our societal narrative, and in this case the exception can help to explain how you can break the rule!

You don't have to fall in love to feel this sense of the infinite possibilities beating inside of your heart. You just need to take one powerful, positive action in your own life and start believing in the infinite.

I will say this again: You are human, that makes you amazing, and that gifts you with the potential and possibilities of the infinite.

You don't need to take a leap of faith to get here, you just need to identify one thing in your life that you want to change -- and then go out in do it. Success will breed success, and once you start believing in your infinite self you're going to start doing amazing things.

If you're doubting yourself, that's OK. Just remember that other people have overcome bigger challenges than you. You're not special in that way.

The only real note of caution I would offer is, don't be too wedded to the outcome. This is more about you, than it is about how you rank against the rest of the world. If you're 100# overweight and 50 years old, your dream of winning an Olympic gold medal in sprinting is probably not going to happen.

This isn't about changing the world, it's about changing you!

If you're passionate about sprinting, then be the best damned sprinter your genetics will allow. Amaze people with your speed, your tenacity, and your overwhelming sense of joy. Be an awesome, amazing sprinter who inspires others to be amazing, awesome sprinters -- that's how you will get to be #1.

You are infinite. This is an innate part of the human experience. You just need to let your inner awesomeness come out.

Originally written on 2013-11-08