The Voice

There is a Voice.

The Voice gets up at the same time you do.

It says things like “Maybe you should just sleep in. You could do this tomorrow. You’ve had a late night and you didn’t even sleep that well. You should just advance your alarm by one hour, get more rest.”

You know the voice I’m talking about. Everyone has a Voice.

The job of the Voice is to keep you exactly where you are.

The Voice’s job is to ensure that you keep getting better at the game you’re already playing. That doesn’t mean you stay rooted in one spot. It doesn’t even mean that you don’t improve what you’re doing and take on new things. It means that the Voice’s job is to ensure that all of that falls within the realm of what is predictable and safe for you.

The Voice has many tools at its disposal.

The Voice will tell you exactly what you want to hear to return back to safety. It will point to everything you already have going for you. It will describe, in beautifully written prose, all of the things that are magnificent about the life you currently have.

The Voice will point to the things you might have to give up, or that you’ll lose if you play a bigger game. It will explain why you should do this tomorrow, or in two weeks, or in another month, or maybe in a few more years. It will explain how this is really better, and it will do so in soothing tones while it tucks you neatly into a bed made up of your comfort zone.

The Voice will use guilt, shame, despair, disappointment, fear, love, affirmations, excitement, novelty, joy, happiness, laughter, and anything else to work its magic.

The Voice is soothing. Following the Voice will create a sense of relief, and the Voice will explain to you how this sense of relief is really a sign that you’re now following your most authentic self.

The Voice will co-opt your sense of authenticity and use this in service of its purpose: keeping you safe.

The Voice will explain how the game you’re already playing actually involves a lot of stepping outside of your comfort zone. The Voice will argue with what I’m saying to you, right here, because what I’m saying is in defiance to the Voice’s mission.

The Voice is the greatest advocate for your life as it currently is. The Voice will staunchly defend all of the reasons you’ve made for being here, and all of the reasons for why not look beyond here. The Voice is crying out for your contentment.

Everyone has a voice.

Your first job is to distinguish the Voice as separate from yourself. The Voice is not your truth. In fact, the Voice stands in active defiance to you discovering your truth, because discovering a deeper level of truth will move you away from the status quo.

Once you’ve distinguished the Voice as distinct from yourself, your second job is to come to terms with the fact that the Voice will immediately co-opt that as well, using it against you to convince you it is not separate, but is in fact you. The Voice works by convincing you that you’ve got a handle on it and have it’s number. When you can accept that you will continually be fooled by this demon within, it will become easier to simply accept that fact and catch it without significance.

Your third job is to let go of needing the Voice to go quiet. The Voice will never go quiet. In fact, the greater you live into your purpose on this planet, the louder the Voice will get. The more you step into your possibility and greatness, the more at risk you put yourself, and the more the Voice will work to soothe and convince you to stay put.

Your fourth job is to recognize that the Voice has already co-opted this article, and is inviting you to nod your head in agreement and get fascinated about the fact that you notice your Voice and can see how it’s stopping you. Spending time exploring how the Voice is stopping you prevents you from taking the action that would frighten you. The Voice wins.

Just listen for it. If you let yourself go quiet, it’s speaking to you even right now. Seducing you. Soothing you.

Fuck the Voice.

Live Life.