We talk a lot about the fear of failure.

What if I try and it doesn’t work?
What if I put myself out there and I’m rejected?
What if I take the leap and discover I’m not capable of what I thought I was?

So often, the answer to those questions is to stay where we are.

We stay with what is familiar. We stay with what we know. We convince ourselves that we are being practical, patient, or realistic.

But sometimes, underneath the fear of failure, there is another question quietly waiting:

What if I succeed?

But, I Can’t Meditate

“I’ve tried meditating, but I can’t stop thinking.”

If you’ve ever said those words, you’re in good company. It’s one of the most common reasons people give up on meditation before they’ve really begun.

I was too much.

That is the first thing I learned about myself. My feelings were too big. I felt everything all the way to the bottom, and the people around me were not sure what to do with that, so I decided the problem was me. I was weird. Defective. Somewhere along the way I got very good at pushing it all down and saying I’m fine. No, I’m totally fine…