CHAPTER TWELVE
Listen To Your Inner Man
Prior to the time when the first man in modern time reached the summit of the mount Everest, no one dared try. Many had died en-route trying and the locals had mystified the mountain, worship on it but never dared make the climb up because they were inundated with the many death stories and bones of dead men scattered around the mountain which they assumed the gods killed.
When Sharpe Tensing and sir Edmund Hillary decided to take to the mountains, they were discouraged by the people who had tried and failed and the local villagers. The people said “no one has succeeded, it is impossible”. the locals thought the duo were insane. They had lived their lives around the mountain and never tried it. Sharpe and Edmund however listened to no one but themselves. If others have not tried it for fear, they’d never accept defeat just yet.
Sharpe and Edmund picked a few locals who accepted to join them for the little income they’d make. The tour service had supplied them with some interpreters. As they climbed the height, the locals returned one by one. Those who followed them came down sick as they climbed and they lost two persons yet they wouldn’t give up. Sharpe and Edmund didn’t seem like slowing down their pursuit. They listened only to their inner man who said “go on and make history”. Today they may be history but they made history. Those who gave up are also history but they’ve never made history.
Inside every one is the inner man with a strong will and voice. This inner man is unstained with nominal thinking pattern. It thinks its way and strives to act its way. However because it is hosted by our coats, this body with its sensual thought, this thinking patter is silenced and the voice is unheard even when it is still speaking.
When limits form on our great pursuit, two voices naturally speak. One voice says “are you sure you can?”. The other voice whispers “go ahead”. The first is the physical voice that thinks fear. The second voice is the inner voice of consolation. Because we interact more with our physical senses and with physical people, we accept the report our physical senses are fed with disregarding our inner man who always sees possibilities.
The voice of our inner man always speaks in whispers. We have to listen carefully to hear it and that is when we haven’t trained ourselves to listen to that voice. The more we train to listen to our inner voice , the louder it becomes till it begins to speak ahead of our physical voice.
It would be insane for some person to have seen dead bone of people en-route to his destination and still be strong enough to head in that direction when it is clear the bones are that of people who have headed in that direction. Whatever record they were plotting to break, the images on the scene is enough to push them backwards. There has to be something they believe that keeps them on the path. That believe arrives from the inner voice which says “keep going, those one who are dead aren’t you, you will survive”.
When I was little, I had challenges with interacting with people. My self-esteem was low and I just didn’t believe in myself. I always thought that others were better because they came from well to do families or dressed in costly clothes. It was devastating for me and as I grew it affected my psychology. In high school I thought some other students were brilliant than I was so I held them in awe. I didn’t try to compete against them. I thought I was no match. One day our teachers gave us a test and when the results arrived, I didn’t bother to check mine because I knew it wouldn’t count amongst the best students in class. I hurriedly checked for the best students in class and they did poorly. I concluded that if those I held in high esteem had performed poorly, I probably had nothing. While I was considering leaving the list, Just then a voice said, “check yours, you may just be different. Can’t you be the best in class too?” sure I could be the best, I encouraged myself. I was actually amazed at how well I performed. I had scored higher than the rest of the students. I knew from then that the best students weren’t actually the best until I allowed them that position.
When limitations hang around us, it is meant to build the capacity of the man inside us. That man is strong-willed, persistent and motivating. This man is also strong and empowered to propel the physical man. We fail to get past our limits when we allow the encumbrances and challenges affect the resolve of that strong inner man.
I’ve written earlier that any limits that comes our way is because the capacity is right in us to challenge it and that is the voice of the very strong inner man. This voice motivates the lion out of us to push against the limits. The voice is the lion.
How do we train the inner man to speak so strongly? It’s done only by listening to it continuously and persistently. It always speaks. It’s always saying something about any situation and limiting challenges you are going through, and it is always positive.
When you are stressed beyond limits, it means, it’s time to listen. It’s time to put your ears down and look inwards to hear what he has to say. He can tell you to jump over even when your physical senses think jumping is a great risk. It is this voice that pushes people to risk something because of the possibility of something great happening.
When you see that limit stand before you and people around are talking you into giving up, listen to your inner voice.