Monsters Under My Bed

Recently, I noticed a blanket tucked under my daughters bed and asked her why it was there. She claimed that my son thought there were monsters under her bed so they put a blanket there so he wouldn’t see them. A light chuckle came over me and out the door I went.

This took me back to my own childhood of when I was afraid of what was behind my closet door. You see, I had the area under my bed boobytrapped and the only thing that was left unguarded was the closet. Back then, I strategically placed my toys under the bed because if there were monsters there they would have to move the toys to get out. And if they did that I would most certainly hear it and get ready for “defcon 4”.

This trip down memory lane is one that we all might have dealt with when we are children. The night terrors and thinking that I “heard something” was enough to send my mind into panic. But even as adults, don’t we do this in some form? Our limited thinking keep us trapped and unavailable for growth?

At what point in our lives did that fear finally subside? How old were you when you didn’t believe that there were “monsters living under your bed?”

As adults, we tend to live in either the past, present or the future. For those who are living in the future, they tend to think about things that have not come to the present. They fantasize about what the future might hold for them and how great it will be.

Those who live in the past tend to relive things that happened to them long ago and tend to relive it on a daily basis. An example would be something like, “I lose my temper when things don’t go right and I learned that from my parents. They always yelled at me when I was running with scissors.”

We all travel the road of life at different speeds. It is my belief that living in the “present” will get you to your destination at the exact time you were meant to get there. It is the “past” and the “future” that can hold your development and growth back.

What things are holding you back? Are the actions of your parents holding you back today? Do you struggle from month to month to meet you debt obligations? Why do people dream of the future without putting together an action plan to get them to their desired destination?

I have the belief that we fear most of which we don’t understand. If you struggle with money, you should study money. If your temper gets the best of you, you should ask why this is. Once you begin to see where these learned behaviors came from will you be able to really make a difference in your life and live in the present.

You might be thinking that I am full of shit and I don’t know what I am talking about. In some ways you are probably right. However, this works for me. If I find myself in a situation that brings some fear or makes me uncomfortable I do what I can to learn about it. When I have a better understanding of my fear it starts to dissipate from my mind and I live free.

If something is holding you back from reaching your goals, I would advise you to look within and ask question of why things are taking you off course. Facing fears head on can hold you back from reach your true potential. But what do I know….I’m just a cabinet salesman.