This is not my thing...

We so easily say, "This is not my thing," "I'm not good at this," "I don't choose this or that."

Almost automatically, we make statements about ourselves that we don't even bother to question with at least some evidence.

Thus, we take ourselves for granted and forget that the "permanent self" with which we usually identify changes not only over the years but also with every experience.

That "self" that appears so fixed and stable is as porous and elastic as we are willing to transform it.

Past affirmations drag on like ghosts. However, behind those veils, infinite possibilities are hidden only for those who dare to look a little beyond their limited identity.

Some people dare to peek timidly behind the facade of their well-known personality and wonder, why not? And suddenly, with the force of a hurricane sweeping away all illusion of expanding one's identity, a resounding NO appears, reclining them to the same place and anchoring them in the same habits and behaviours as always.

From that comfort zone and fear, they admire those other people who dare to live what they do not.

Sometimes out of laziness, we remain trapped in old ideas

By "laziness," I mean the lack of vital energy, that emotional laziness that, like a poorly knitted thread, loses shape and quality. This indifference to one's life makes it hard for us to move from those places where we know we do not want to be and to look at the "display window" of what could be if we dared to break our old identity moulds. However, it seems vital energy and strength are never enough for what we look at with the desire to become reality. Those who dare to cross the threshold of that comfortable but somewhat joyless everyday life transcend apathy to go after the contentment of a "chosen" life.

We should not think that life has to be "fun," "exciting," or "risky" to be right. There are crazy lives, moving directionlessly from one place to another, and while they have movement, they lack "substance." Moving is not the same as having dynamism. The word "dynamic" etymologically comes from "dynamai," meaning "I am capable" or "I can." And with this personal statement, the possibility opens to always go beyond self-imposed labels and those imposed by others.

A life in motion must be well-directed.

A "stopped" life must be awakened by a sharp consciousness that puts dynamism where there is an excess of stillness, conformism, and a taste of "always the same." Perhaps secretly, something inside us whispers in our ears... And if I dare to...". These inner voices should not be silenced but planted like seeds with enormous potential. Seeds take time to sprout. And before sowing, we need to level the ground so that when watering, the water penetrates evenly everywhere. Similarly, we need to "level the mental field," meditate and reflect on the present moment so that these inner voices that appear as tiny sprouts can have the place and time necessary to take root very slowly and not frighten us with the fear of change.

Just as a farmer learns his craft over time, each of us needs time to "mature" an idea, an illusion, or a decision, but we can only mature what has been made room for. What is or will come, at some point, was a timid voice asking us, why not? That seed flourishes if we leave behind the old dogmas that keep us in the same place. Our seeds thrive if we leave behind the old dogmas that keep us in the same place.

Daring to go beyond our personality

I can share a personal experience that perhaps someone can "resonate with..."

I always said, "I'm a homebody like my grandmother..." Until one day, along with my family, my husband and my five-year-old son, we considered the possibility of travelling, a desire that had been buried over the years. "With children, things change...," I convinced myself to get rid of that crazy "traveller" idea.

One night of lucid madness, we asked ourselves, Why not? Often, those pauses outside of our daily routines are like cracks that let in the light, illuminating what we don't see when we're rushing too much.

Today, I can affirm that I have the flexibility to twist the imposition of "this is me" or "this is not me." There was no better decision than daring to live what I said was no longer for me.

That experience served to "expand" the idea I had of myself. It helped me to make my personality more flexible, to get to know myself and to recognise myself anew, to grow and to detach from old beliefs. And above all, it led me to ask myself:

What part of life before did I choose, and what was merely a repetition of every day?

Upon my return, I know that many things I said I "couldn't" do, "today I can," "what I didn't choose," "were actually fears." I also learned that there are things I can do but choose not to... but I had to step out of the security of my "cave" called home to affirm that "although I'm a homebody..." (and I still choose it), a big part of me can come and go, be this way and then not. When the "I" with which we identify is more a prison than an expanded identity, we need to question ourselves to be able to choose and why not. Take up the same thing but from another place, more conscious, awake, and lucid.

In my experience, six months of travel initially extended to more than two years. And when I realised that my life wasn't turning upside down, that far from abandoning my profession, it was strengthened and gained great momentum, only then did I dare to double down and continue giving space to that travelling experience. Life rewards us every time we choose to grow rather than remain, live rather than survive.

Expanding the Self far beyond the limited borders of the tiny "I" that complies and discards almost automatically means leaving behind the rigid expression "This is Me" and "This is Not Me."

Do you dare to ask...

These questions require a lucid consciousness. The answers are built with time, dedication, and effort. Asking ourselves questions is the primary axis to not spin in place constantly in the same spot.