Face Thy Fears; Delight in the Devil

When asked about how last week was and how this week will be, I said, ‘Last week was Great, and this week will be Great,’ and followed it quickly, without any forethought or preplanning, ‘The Devil is in the details, and I am friends with the Devil.’

I meant to say there are many challenges, insurmountable situations in working through a mind shift in building a new product, getting traction, etc.

But when those words came out, I felt empowered! You might be thinking why referring to the Devil should be empowering?

The association of Devil as a friend made me believe that I can take on any challenge. I felt that it meant nothing is impossible. It may not happen today or this week, but then, play the game — not fear it!

In another podcast, the guest responded to a question on challenges- the typical mindset is to say ‘Slay the dragon in the room,’ but the guest changed it to ‘Hug the dragon in the room.’ I am paraphrasing what was said, but then, that felt more liberating when I heard it.

• Chaos isn’t chaos if you treat it as clouds and you play with it.
• Challenges aren’t insurmountable if you keep working with them and not against them.
• Only when you feel fear, it overcomes you. But laugh it off while you walk away, then fear loses steam and fizzles off.

Nothing is terrible; our usual strategy is one where we visualize fear before it has actually happened.

Next time you are faced with fear, an impossible challenge, and a seemingly unconquerable task, play with what is in front of you because you are friends with the Devil!