APX-VI-0008
“I've been using my past as a reason not to try.”
Your past is real. What happened to you is real. But using it as a reason not to try is a choice you're making right now, in the present. That choice belongs to you, not your history.
Your Practice
Write down the thing you've been avoiding and the past event you tie to it. Ask honestly: is the past event the real reason, or is the past event a story that makes not trying feel justified? Pick one small action toward the avoided thing. Take it today.
The Architects
“The condition and characteristic of a vulgar person, is, that he never expects either benefit or hurt from himself, but from externals. The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is, that he expects all hurt and benefit from himself.”
— Epictetus, Enchiridion, 48 (Elizabeth Carter translation)