Welcome back to Module 3 of the program on
The Rebel Within
In this module, you will explore what lies the Rebel may be telling you about who you are.
You see, your Rebel can be cunning and uses many tactics to keep you firmly stuck in the status quo.
If you are going to win out against such a formidable rebel, you will have to be prepared for how it's going to attack you.
That's where Step #2 - Recognizing its Tactics comes into play.
Let's explore what these tactics are.
All of these are examples of the Rebel Within trying to control your life. The Rebel wants to keep you right where you are and prevent you from moving toward your dreams and reaching your fullest potential. It will fight to stop this from happening with four powerful tactics.
Let's look at the way the Rebel Within wants to stop you.
1. The Rebel Within stands in the way of your personal growth.
- The Rebel wants things to stay just as they are. It doesn't like change and doesn't want to see you grow.
- When things remain the same, the Rebel knows that it's in charge, that it's the one running the show. And it also knows the more awake you become to your own potential the less need you'll have for it.
- You can be sure that the most significant personal growth opportunities you face will be met with enormous barriers from the Rebel Within.
- The Rebel Within you fundamentally hates growth because it knows that if you embrace change, take risks, move out of your comfort zone, live adventurously, and try new things that you will start down a path that is much nobler than the one you have been taking. It fears you will, once and for all, leave it behind.
2. The Rebel Within fills your heart with fear.
- If you decide to pursue a calling or passion, the Rebel Within you will stir up fear in your heart and will try to make you believe that there are negative consequences for venturing into something new.
- The Rebel will suggest that if you move forward you will mess up the status quo and make things worse.
- It will fill your head with thoughts of everything that can go wrong.
- There are two sides of fear, and the Rebel uses them both. In addition to filling your heart with the fear of failure, it also fills you with the fear of success.
- Realizing that you have a vocation, a purpose, a calling - whatever you want to call it - is down right scary. It means that you now must pursue it and prove yourself worthy of it.
But what if you can't?
That's the Rebel talking.
3. The Rebel Within fills your mind with doubt.
You hear that old familiar voice in your head time after time, telling you things like:
- Do you really think this will work?
- You can't do this.
- You won't succeed.
- Are you sure you are cut out for this?
- Who do you think you are?
When thinking about taking a risk or doing something new, you tend to remember your failures more than your successes.
The Rebel Within knows this and uses the weapon of doubt to convince you that if you take another risk, you will likely fail.
And then it is lights out for you.
The Rebel uses doubt to stir up a 'survival' response so that you feel incapable of taking risks. Instead, you retreat inward where it is familiar and safe.
This is called the 'negative bias.' If you study and worry about what went wrong, you think you are protecting yourself, your survival, and future success
4. The Rebel Within tells you lies.
This is one of the most subtle, yet powerful tactics of the Rebel.
Since we have so many thoughts in a day, most of us don't pay specific attention to our thoughts, but instead automatically believe that if we have a thought then that thought must be from us and therefore it must be true.
We don't take the time to think that a thought is from the Rebel.
Here are a few of the most powerful and destructive things our Rebel says.
- Feel sorry for yourself. On a temporary basis, feeling sorry for yourself is consoling. This would be no different than the animal that licks its wounds to soothe its pain. However, 'woe is me' doesn't make us very hopeful. That's why the Rebel is happy to see you pitying yourself. Feeling sorry for yourself actually consumes a great deal of energy that could be used for positive action.
- You'll be better off if you quit. This suggestion comes up when pursuing your dreams. It says to you it is more difficult than you expected. The Rebel makes quitting look desirable because giving up releases you from the burden of responsibility. The Rebel also helps make it acceptable to quit by rationalizing your position. But quitting exacts a steep price because over time you create a habit of quitting you never learn the value of persevering through problems and frustrations and experiencing success.
- Please others first. Trying to please others stems from the feeling that making someone else happy is the ticket to being loved and accepted yourself. And when you focus on others' wants and needs, you often sacrifice your own. As the saying goes, "You can't live for others without losing yourself in the process." The Rebel will love it if you lose yourself to others.
- You will get hurt. The Rebel wants you to feel vulnerable and weak, and to believe that he or she is there to protect you. If you step out and try something new, you will subject yourself to judgment, criticism or rejection. And that will result in pain. And why would you want to do that?
- You are not ready. - The Rebel will often tell you that you're just not ready, and points to the tension, the queasiness, or the general feeling of uneasiness you are feeling as proof that you should back off. The Rebel will plant seeds that say "You need more..." 1/ money, 2/
I Am __________
Welcome to Module 4 of the program on
The Rebel Within
Of the four tactics you just discovered, the Rebel's most powerful tactic is to tell you lies.
The Rebel has the most power when it can influence how you see yourself.
If you are too aware of it, the Rebel can influence you toward critical, fearful, anxious, sabotaging thoughts and feelings about yourself.
The Rebel will plant limiting thoughts in your mind that you subconsciously adopt as your own.
For example, it says "You can't do it." and you subconsciously adopt the thought "I can't do it." not realizing that this thought is from the Rebel and is a lie.
In this section, you will explore what lies the Rebel may be telling you about who you are.
Scientist, teacher and author A.L. Kitselman once said:
"The words 'I am' are potent words, be careful what you hitch them to."
