“My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened.” Michel de Montaigne
Projecting Equals Suffering
“Don’t project!” we’re told. Meaning, don’t imagine the future worst, because it may never happen anyway.
Easy to say and hard to do. The challenge is to stay present and focused, while dealing with the challenges of the day. It is doable if we live minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day.
The reality of what’s to come is usually never as bad as what we imagine in our poor over-worked brains. But by projecting the worst, we cause ourselves unnecessary suffering.
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Self-Trust Is the Key
A lack of self-trust and indeed a lack of trust in Life itself is at the base of our negative projections. So we need to find within us that base of security and self-trust that allows us to calm down. Then we need to check-in with ourselves in order to find the source of our fears, do a reality check and then intuit the next best step to resolve what needs to be resolved.
And then we need to let go of what we can’t control or fix. That takes wisdom. It takes strength. And yes, it takes trust – in ourselves and in Life itself. Trust that we will have what we need to deal.
