We Can Do Hard Things Ep 238

We need to work patiently with our lives, with our desires for sensation, for security, for power—and no one here is free of those, including myself.

Here’s what the people who developed early antianxiety practices knew: The human mind is endlessly, unstoppably generative. It’s always making something. Always. The part of our brains that we’ve been taught to use is constantly creating concepts, stories, theories, competitive strategies, a sense of lack—and, of course, anxiety. To stop doing this

why you feel so much fear and anxiety. At the same time you will have found the key to maintaining your equilibrium.

Yet it would take Laura a number of sessions before the pause could begin to feel like a real refuge—a place where she could be aware of her pain without feeling possessed or overwhelmed by it. Eventually the pause would allow her to come home to herself in an intimate and honest way.