Transform Fear Into Faith To
Grow Strong Can You Spot Your Ego’s Tricks? Here’s How To Grow Anyway By Christina Kunkle, CTA Certified Life and Wellness Coach, R.N.
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Winter 2017
Photo Illustration by Sherrie Good
who, among many other things, helped me see that my thoughts aren’t always the truth, and that my feelings aren’t always facts. Ends up, thoughts are just thoughts and feelings are only feelings until we assign meaning to them. And before we can do that with any degree of certainty, it’s essential that we wake up to the never-ending war within our minds and hearts — the fight between light and the dark, good and evil, love and fear, our ego and our spirit; otherwise known as the two wolves that live in each of us.
The Two Wolves So, here’s the story: A Cherokee elder told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside people. “My son, the battle is between the two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all,” he said. “One is Unhappiness. It is fear, worry, anger, jealousy, sorrow, self-pity, resentment and inferiority. The other is Happiness. It is joy, love, hope, serenity, kindness, generosity, truth and compassion.” The grandson thought about it for a minute, then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.” Which one are you feeding?
Winter 2017
Metro Creative
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ere we are, well into the first quarter of a brand new year. A strong desire to shine bright, learn new things, have more fun and push our limits has prompted you to make some fresh, new decisions and big commitments. Maybe you’ve chosen to join a gym, sign up for a class or take a new career path. No doubt there are swirling questions, second thoughts and even a little anxiety mixed with excitement surrounding the whole idea of making an investment in yourself. If you’re anything like most of us, you’ve probably decided “yes, I really want to do this” about three times, and “no, what the heck was I thinking?” at least twice. Do any of the following thoughts sound familiar? If any of these statements ring true for you, then you’re right on track. “Maybe I should just wait until: Things slow down and I have more time and attention to give this? I gather more information, and consider other options? My friends, family or spouse finally agree this is a good idea? I can save extra money or have a more flexible job? I can figure out how to do it by myself? I get clearer about what I really want and need? I know who else has signed up for the class, I mean, what if I won’t fit in or they don’t like me? What happens if I don’t even like them? Believe me, I’ve got more, because there are a gazillion others that I’ve told myself when grappling with whether or not to spend my time, energy and resources on personal and professional growth opportunities that I know are designed to stretch and strengthen me. While some of the above thoughts are practical things to consider, if you look closely, you can clearly see that there are ego-driven elements of fear mixed in, too — voices from the panic zone that can scare us away from the edge of change and back into old habits, or stop us altogether. In the past, these thoughts would confuse, deplete and depress me into paralyzing self-doubt. Luckily, I was guided to a wise mentor
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