Unlocking the Cage

No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change. - Barbara de Angelis

Happiness eludes people. Which is weird, because it’s something that can’t be taken away from you. It’s yours to keep, yours to lose. So why is it so hard to come by? Why do people go through most of their lives without much happiness?

It’s obvious we live in a world where we don’t have to go out of our way to find sad stories. Actually, it’s shoved down our throat on a day by day, hour by hour basis depending how much media we pay attention to. And let’s not forget all these TV shows, how many celebrities we see on a constant basis, what they have and what we don’t. And considering how much people put an emphasis on happiness being a state of mind or that it comes from how much you have in your life, is it really a wonder why most of us can’t find happiness?

There’s also something else. We tend to not do things that make us happy. Seriously. We are either so run down by life that we medicate our lives with dull, uneventful things like watching TV or become workaholics. Then there are those who feel they have to do everything for others, and doing something for themselves would be a sin.

 It’s time to put an end to dullness and self-medicating meaninglessness, and get over the fact that you can’t do everything for others, while ignoring yourself. Take some time to think about what makes you happy in life. Then go out and start doing those things. Don’t hesitate. Just go and do it. After all, happiness is where you find it.

“Real living is living for others.” – Bruce Lee

Recently I was talking with someone about life, how hard it’s become recently and the challenges that face us for getting out of the mess we’re in right now. He mentioned how all the challenges in his life could easily disappear right now. It was as simple as shutting down shop up here, packing the bags and taking his wife with him down to Mexico and opening a sunglass hut on the beach. Life would be simple then. There wouldn’t be anything to worry about. No money problems, no stress and you would be living in paradise, drinking fruity drinks all day looking at the ocean.

But that would be a cop out. Sure it’d be nice to have no stress in life. Sure it’d be nice to minimize money problems. Sure it’d be nice to stare out at the ocean all day long. But, as he put it, he’d be running from what’s in front of him now. He knows he wasn’t called to sell sunglasses on some beach; he was called to do higher and greater things, to impact those around him, to make a difference in the world he lives in.

We all get in the fantasy mode sometimes. At times, it’s used as a temporary escape from our reality. Other times it’s dreaming of what could be. But we can’t forget we were created to make a difference. Life get’s hard sometimes, throws wrenches in our plans all the time, smacks us in the face until we can’t see clear anymore. We can’t forget about our purpose, why we are here. It really isn’t about you.

“Insanity is coasting through life in a miserable existence when you have a caged lion locked inside and the keys to release it.” - Morgan Freeman in Wanted

 

I believe everyone has a set of keys. Whether you were born with them or developed them throughout your life, you have a set of keys. And no, I’m not talking about your car keys are the keys to your house, I’m talking about the keys to unlocking the doors that hold you back in life.

But just like so many people often go through their house looking for their lost set of keys, so many people are lost in life; don’t know where to go next or feel like giving up and staying where they are at.

There are three categories of people who have failed to unlock the cage.

1) The person stuck in a rut looking for a way to get to the next level of their life

2) The person who doesn’t realize the potential to get to the next level already exists inside them.

3) The person who knows the potential they have and CHOOSE to keep the cage locked.

The last person is who I want to focus on. They have a set of keys perfectly capable of unlocking the cage and releasing the lion inside to go out and conquer life in front of them but CHOOSE not to. Why is this? I think it comes down to the root of a certain fear(s).

What fear is stopping you from unlocking the cage and loosing the lion inside? Is it fear of success? Fear of rejection? Fear of failure? What’s your fear?

You have all the potential in the world and can even learn to develop more. Once you realize the potential that lives inside you or the potential that can be developed, it’s as simple as unlocking the cage and letting it go. Dig deep, find the fear that is stopping you and unlock that caged lion. Go out and conquer!