Would you take the ‘Mastery Pill of Everything’? The Mastery Pill of Everything would surely be marketed as the ultimate cure for anxiety; never fearing not being good enough again, having IBS or that nauseous feeling in the stomach again. 

For people like me, being hard on ourselves, beating yourself up for not being good enough, having the mastery of everything would resolve that. But would you take the pill?

My initial thoughts were, wow, yes. But, I realised afterwards, I would no longer sense achievement for overcoming a challenge.

The OMG Realisation

Anxieties are normal, it’s part of our natural defence mechanism to keep us safe. Life is not always Pollyanna – our outlook cannot always be optimistic and feeling good. Shocking as it may be, it’s OK to be not OK. We cannot appreciate joy without appreciating feeling low, just as we cannot appreciate light without appreciating the darkness. 

The O’ my goodness realisation is; Living is about learning, and as part of the Learning Cycle (Experience, Reflection, Learning from the experience and Experiment) we learn from our mistakes. So I say, bye-bye Mastery Pill and hello to working through personal challenges. It’s only through working through challenges do we grow in confidence and our anxieties fade. 

Action Question:

Think of a challenge you are facing at the moment. Say to yourself, “I am struggling with X” and make a mental note whether this statement makes you feel expansive or constrictive.

Repeat the statement, but say “I am progressing with X” and make a mental note whether this description makes you feel expansive or constrictive. Was there a difference in how you felt about the same challenge, by phrasing it a different way? 

If we view working through life’s challenges, as progressing through life’s course work, I've realised I feel more expansive and better, rather than viewing challenges as struggles and with the associated constrictive feelings. So I am now progressing . . .