Deepak Chopra - "People will suffer most anything.."

"People will suffer almost anything as long as it means they don't have to change." ~ Deepak Chopra

People will stay stuck in a rut even if they don't like the rut very much. Changing, or moving out of the rut - the comfort zone - that they live in is too scary. So, to resist change, they Find Excuses And Reasons (F.E.A.R.) to stay right where they are - even if they are suffering! It's the old saying - the devil you know is better, or safer, than the one you don't know.

This is why New Year's Resolutions are given up on within weeks of January 1st. The Inner Critic
(voice of self-doubt and fear) is only doing his job. His job is to keep you safe and happy. However, your Inner Critic is woefully misguided in what it thinks will keep you safe and happy. He thinks what will keep you safe and happy is to stay with the familiar life experiences.
Your Inner Wizard (voice of intuition and inspiration) knows better. Your Inner Wizard is what inspired you to create your New Year's Resolutions in the first place. He knows your truth, your passions, your desires. When empowered he effortlessly guides you forward as you achieve your goals and create the life you dream of.

How can you tell if you've empowered your Inner Wizard? It's simple. Check in with how you feel. If you feel good, your Inner Wizard has the power. If you feel bad, your Inner Critic is guiding you - with your Inner Wizard in the background yelling "this isn't good!"

When you stated your New Year's Resolutions, for example, you felt good. You felt strong. You were optimistic about what was possible for you to achieve in the coming year. You 'saw' a newer and better comfort zone to live within. And you started to stretch beyond your current tired, old, limiting zone.

And your Inner Critic got scared. He feared for your safety and happiness. So he started serving up those excuses and reasons why you couldn't stay committed to your New Year's resolutions. And you felt badly. This is the point where many people give up on their resolutions and stay stuck right where they one were.

So, as Deepak Chopra says, people will suffer almost anything as long as it means they don't have to change.

The good news is that if you pay attention, if you are mindful that the 'excuses and reasons' are simply the voice of your Inner Critic and do not give this doubting self-talk any power over you, your Inner Wizard will stay empowered and continue to joyfully move you forward as you achieve your goals. Again, your Inner Critic means well. He's just misguided. He is part of you. And as such, you don't want to kill or eliminate your Inner Critic, you just want to take away his power over you.

When you hear that Inner Critic voice inside that might say something like "Who are you kidding? You could never achieve that goal", know that this is merely the voice of a scared little child. Tell him, it's okay. You will be safe. You (empowered by your Inner Wizard) are going to guide your life experiences from now on. The Inner Critic can go along for the ride and gets to sit in the back seat this time - not the driver's seat. Give him a sippy cup and a blankie and your Inner Critic will learn that he is safe even in newer and bigger comfort zones - life experiences that do not include suffering!