Do You Distract Yourself or Follow Your Dreams?

by Ryan Biddulph

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I recall working my first job out of college.

My mom noted it would be a good idea to get busy with something. I had to pay my bills, she said. So I got a job to pay bills and to get busy.

Deeper down, I got a job to distract myself from the fears I needed to face, feel and release in order to live my dream life. Dreams seemed like fantasies for rich, powerful or flat out lucky people to me back then because everyone I grew up with thought this way. I believed what they believed and never questioned their beliefs.

I never met, learned from and became programmed by a person who lived their dreams. Distracting myself seemed like the normal path. Any other life seemed abnormal, scary and flat out terrifying.

No thank you! I would rather keep busy, distract myself with simple, easy jobs, get a pay check and live life comfortably, even though I felt enslaved, depressed and quite hopeless.

I turned things around by getting fired. My pier guard job dissolved into being computerized. After kicking around for months, I loved freedom. I enjoyed waking at any time. I loved hanging out, doing nothing. I had never taken off more than 5 days a year during my 8 plus years of employment. Wow! Freedom!

I eventually spotted a subtle driver behind my life; getting a taste of freedom felt good but I secretly, predominantly distracted myself with lower energy habits to drown out fears. I needed to face, feel and release these fears to live my dreams.

Deep fears found me. I slammed into hardships. Urges to distract myself vanished. I HAD TO face my purpose; free myself, inspire humans and live my dreams. Logically, the process seemed simple. Emotionally, the process became messy. I eventually lived my dreams. But I only lived my dreams because I stopped living to distract myself from avoiding my fears.

I had to see myself, my intent and my mind in the light of truth to live for freedom, not to distract myself from facing my fears.

Why do you work a job? Do you distract yourself? Do you work a job to keep busy? Do you fill 40 hours weekly to avoid facing your fears? What happens during quiet time? How do you feel during down time? Do you feel crazy? Does your mind take off, thoughts and feelings roiling like a roaring rapids of madness?

Congratulations! Life is just beginning for you.

Stop living to distract yourself from your deepest fears. Nudge into fear. Dissolve these energies. Follow your dreams. Facing, feeling and releasing fear makes a clearer, albeit bumpy, path to living your dreams. Liberation is worth being scared sometimes. Living your dreams is worth being uncomfortable sometimes. Living your dreams takes years of inner clearing and outer effort. But if you plan to be around for years anyway, why would you fill those years with distractions, versus being free and following your dreams?

Do you genuinely believe the human experience is meant to be about distracting yourself from facing your fears?