Written by Richard Sykes
Is greatness born or made? Moreover, what does it mean to be great?
To look at others who are living their dreams and excelling in their chosen profession may make you feel that they have found and are living with greatness. This can make us start to place these people on a pedestal and create a feeling that they are somehow above us. However, is this true? No, not at all.
Greatness comes in many forms, and it does not mean that you have to excel at what you do, be the next athlete or create a hard to reach goal that becomes too daunting ever to try to achieve.
Greatness can be the small yet powerful things that we do daily. Like helping somebody cross the street or going for a walk. These little acts of greatness will build momentum and grow into greater acts of greatness.
We are all born great, and all die great, but it is also made.
Let me explain:
When we are children, we are living life without any fear. We express ourselves and only want to have fun. The only time that we get upset is when somebody tries to stop us having that fun or being ourselves. Over time we are conditioned into a society that makes us believe what we should and should not do, can and cannot do. These layers of conditioning build up over many years until we feel a separation from who we truly are. This then shuts the door and the connection that we have with ourselves and the ability to express that real authenticity without any resistance or fear.
Life can then become more challenging as we fear more than we ever have before. This fear and separation that we have with ourselves make any attempt of success a difficult task.
The saddening thing is that most of us will identify with our conditioning as who we are. All of these limitations, fear and insecurities we adopt as the self, not remembering who we are.
The true self is always available, waiting to be remembered so that it can shine. However, this is not possible when we are choosing to identify with the false self that was created through how others expect us to be.
This is why greatness is made because the challenge that we all face (and this does not have to be hard) is to remember who we are. Amidst all of the conditioned layers is our greatness, the true self. This greatness is made by forgetting whom you are not and remembering who you are. This strips away any illusions that are clouding our ability to align with the greatness that has always been there.
Greatness is something that we remember. Beneath the lie the truth awaits you.
At some point, a breakthrough is needed. A breakthrough is when we break through what is standing in our way, the invisible resistance that holds us back.
Baby elephants that are brought into a zoo or a circus are conditioned by having their leg tied to a steel post in the ground. The calf will walk so far until the chain becomes tight and it cannot walk any further. Over time the calf grows into a powerful full-size elephant. The steel post is then removed and replaced with a small wooden stick. The full-size elephant will still only walk so far as it believes that it cannot walk any further. Even though this amazing creature could now pull over a house or flip a car on its roof, it has been conditioned to believe that it is limited by a wooden stick in the ground. It's conditioning has won, and it will live believing the illusion that it is limited and small.
This may sadden you, but we are not much different. We are believing our conditioning to be true and forgetting the greatness that runs through every cell in our bodies.
So how do you find your greatness?
You do not find it, it finds you, but you have to question all the limiting beliefs that you have about yourself that are standing in the way. When you feel dis-empowered, ask yourself “what must I believe to be true to feel the way I feel right now?”
Once you have the belief, ask another question “is this true?”
If the answer is not – let it go!
If the answer is yes, then this means that you are gaining something by believing this belief. Investigate further.
This process may sound simple, but its effects are profound. This is because rather that believing all of your conditioned limitations and allowing them to control everything you do; you are questioning them.
To question something is the first step to no longer believing that thing.
Eventually, you will notice that belief has disappeared.
Once you have started to separate yourself from your conditioning, you will make space for your true limitless self to shine through. This is where your greatness comes from.
You are already great, and greatness is waiting to be expressed.
Much love to you all!
Richard Sykes
www.onetruereflection.com
To look at others who are living their dreams and excelling in their chosen profession may make you feel that they have found and are living with greatness. This can make us start to place these people on a pedestal and create a feeling that they are somehow above us. However, is this true? No, not at all.
Greatness comes in many forms, and it does not mean that you have to excel at what you do, be the next athlete or create a hard to reach goal that becomes too daunting ever to try to achieve.
Greatness can be the small yet powerful things that we do daily. Like helping somebody cross the street or going for a walk. These little acts of greatness will build momentum and grow into greater acts of greatness.
We are all born great, and all die great, but it is also made.
Let me explain:
When we are children, we are living life without any fear. We express ourselves and only want to have fun. The only time that we get upset is when somebody tries to stop us having that fun or being ourselves. Over time we are conditioned into a society that makes us believe what we should and should not do, can and cannot do. These layers of conditioning build up over many years until we feel a separation from who we truly are. This then shuts the door and the connection that we have with ourselves and the ability to express that real authenticity without any resistance or fear.
Life can then become more challenging as we fear more than we ever have before. This fear and separation that we have with ourselves make any attempt of success a difficult task.
The saddening thing is that most of us will identify with our conditioning as who we are. All of these limitations, fear and insecurities we adopt as the self, not remembering who we are.
The true self is always available, waiting to be remembered so that it can shine. However, this is not possible when we are choosing to identify with the false self that was created through how others expect us to be.
This is why greatness is made because the challenge that we all face (and this does not have to be hard) is to remember who we are. Amidst all of the conditioned layers is our greatness, the true self. This greatness is made by forgetting whom you are not and remembering who you are. This strips away any illusions that are clouding our ability to align with the greatness that has always been there.
Greatness is something that we remember. Beneath the lie the truth awaits you.
At some point, a breakthrough is needed. A breakthrough is when we break through what is standing in our way, the invisible resistance that holds us back.
Baby elephants that are brought into a zoo or a circus are conditioned by having their leg tied to a steel post in the ground. The calf will walk so far until the chain becomes tight and it cannot walk any further. Over time the calf grows into a powerful full-size elephant. The steel post is then removed and replaced with a small wooden stick. The full-size elephant will still only walk so far as it believes that it cannot walk any further. Even though this amazing creature could now pull over a house or flip a car on its roof, it has been conditioned to believe that it is limited by a wooden stick in the ground. It's conditioning has won, and it will live believing the illusion that it is limited and small.
This may sadden you, but we are not much different. We are believing our conditioning to be true and forgetting the greatness that runs through every cell in our bodies.
So how do you find your greatness?
You do not find it, it finds you, but you have to question all the limiting beliefs that you have about yourself that are standing in the way. When you feel dis-empowered, ask yourself “what must I believe to be true to feel the way I feel right now?”
Once you have the belief, ask another question “is this true?”
If the answer is not – let it go!
If the answer is yes, then this means that you are gaining something by believing this belief. Investigate further.
This process may sound simple, but its effects are profound. This is because rather that believing all of your conditioned limitations and allowing them to control everything you do; you are questioning them.
To question something is the first step to no longer believing that thing.
Eventually, you will notice that belief has disappeared.
Once you have started to separate yourself from your conditioning, you will make space for your true limitless self to shine through. This is where your greatness comes from.
You are already great, and greatness is waiting to be expressed.
Much love to you all!
Richard Sykes
www.onetruereflection.com