Part I: The Infection - Denial and Distraction
Welcome
Really glad you started this book. We’ve been working hard on it. Get yourself a hot cup of coffee or tea, a pen, and a notebook. Find a good spot to sit and get comfortable. We have lots to talk about.
This book covers some challenging terrain. Some of the information is simple and easy. Other parts are a little bit more complicated. They take some time to navigate. For these parts, you’ll need to pause and consider the points. You’ll need to think about your own life and reflect. This isn’t the kind of book that you want to rush through. It isn’t a race. There is no prize for getting done quickly.
Some of the items that we are going to talk about can be considered hard items. They make most people feel uncomfortable, because we are breaking the rules a little bit. There are set on and agreed upon ways of seeing things. Some of these agreed upon ways are not accurate. They wrongfully make some of us feel bad about ourselves. We don’t even consciously consider them. They just kind of sneak in under our radar. We are going to bring them to your awareness and talk through them with you. We don’t want you to have to continue to carry a burden that you can drop beside you.
We will also provide you with the understanding and skills you need to move through worry and fear to the life your heart desires. We will teach you how to face and overcome problems so you can unlock the hidden gifts they contain. Finally, we will share a secret with you about how to tap into the nourishing power of love by caring for other people around you.
For now, however, just a couple more thoughts for you personally before we get started. True, we do not know you personally, but we’ve been thinking quite a bit about the readers of this book and though we do not know you, we likely have a pretty good idea of who you are. That being the case, there are some things we need to tell you right up front.
We believe in you. Maybe you don’t see your potential, maybe you hide your promise, maybe you make life more difficult than it needs to be. It doesn’t matter. We still believe in you. You can grow through these challenges and get to the other side. We’ve seen lots and lots of people just like you do it. We believe you can do it too.
We are not interested in judging you. Your life makes sense. You make sense in the larger story of your life. You might not believe this right now, but we do. You made the best decisions you knew to make. We all have regrets. Some of these regrets are our fault. Many are not. Remember, hindsight is 20/20. We do what we do with what we have. We’d ask you to let go of the past now and consider the start of this book an opportunity to make a fresh start moving forward. Stop and think about that for a second. A fresh start. You. starting. fresh. now. A new chapter. The next page. A brand new direction.
Realize that personal growth is not easy. It isn’t a straight line. Growth is challenging. It comes in fits and starts. You’ll struggle, you’ll have hard times, sometimes things won’t make sense. This has nothing to do with you. This is just life. This is how it is.
Many people like to pretend life is crystal clear. It isn’t (and it isn’t clear for them either). Life is often confusing and feeling unsure is pretty normal. This is what it feels like to be human. And, because you are human, you are going to make lots of mistakes. You won’t stay on the path. You’ll get lost. You’ll get distracted. That’s okay. When this happens, just brush yourself off and make your way back to the path. Don’t spend any time beating yourself up. Just pick yourself up and take that next step forward. The path is always there. It is always waiting for you.
That’s it. Those are the three main items we wanted to tell you before you get started. Oh, one last piece, you can also find a community of fellow travelers at 7cups.com. We’ve been walking this path for a while and you would be more than welcome to join us!
~ The 7 Cups Community
