Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I came across the billboard message below.

 

I had the same reaction that I have to 93.6% of the inspirational-type messages I see…

No. That’s fucking wrong.

On its face, the message seems innocuous enough. There’s certainly nothing new here, nothing to really question. We’ve heard the message that failing to worship at the altar of hard work comes at our own peril. So be safe, kids. Word hard and hedge those bets. Have a Plan B in your back pocket…

In fact, if you don’t bother to look any deeper, it appears to makes sense. After all, you’ve worked hard in certain areas of your life and it’s worked for you, right?

But if you look below the surface, this advice isn’t really helpful. (I know, it’s shocking. If you can’t trust an anonymous Facebook billboard to guide you anymore, then when can you put your faith?)

In fact, when you look at the laws of metaphysics (the only ones worth a damn if you want to understand the Hows and Whys of our universe and living your best life), it’s flat out wrong.

 

First, let’s define hard work.

Hard work is suffering through something you don’t want to do NOW, with the understanding that your suffering with be rewarded LATER.

Well, there is no “later.”

There is only one big never-ending string of NOWs.

If you choose to place yourself on the suffering string today, as you move across that piece of string, it doesn’t magically transform into silk tomorrow. It remains string.

In other words, you cannot sacrifice your way to happiness.

It’s important to make the distinction that you can work hard in ways that you aligned with, but the difference is that you’re not suffering. Climbing a mountain or writing a book require work in that they take focus, effort, and time to accomplish. But when you’re enjoying the process, the work is not hard. It may be challenging, sure, but when you’re aligned with your creation, you’re not suffering. Conversely, if you ever take someone mountain climbing who’s not aligned with the idea, there’s nothing but suffering and whining. If you’re writing a book that feels like really hard work, I’ll bet that A) you won’t finish it, or B) if you do manage to suffer your way to the finish line, it won’t be worth reading.

In short, we teach people to work hard. Suffer now, pray for a reward later… and so that’s what most people choose. But that’s a bullshit way to go about things, taught to you by people who suffered throughout their lives and who believe it’s only fair for you to do the same.

We should teach people about the power of alignment. We should teach people that suffering is optional, and indeed, you can make it irrelevant to your life if you’re willing to learn a few new tricks. (And yeah, that if is the big leaping off point…)

 

Next, let’s talk about “Bad Luck and Ill Fate.”

If you believe in that shit, you have a victim mentality and you’ll always be frustrated in your life. Nothing will ever seem to work out, even though you think it should. If you don’t see yourself as the creator of everything you experience in your life, if you hedge your bets here, you’ll never experience what you came into this life to experience — the indescribably awesome power of being a deliberate creator.

There is no bad luck. Or good luck. There are no Fates to be concerned with unless you’re studying for a test in Greek mythology.

 

Finally, let’s talk about hedging…

This is what really got me fired up about this silly billboard.

DO NOT fucking hedge!

Hedging is candyass. Hedging is halfway/wishywashy/weak sauce.

Hedging is the exact opposite of deciding what you have in this life and deliberately creating it through the power of alignment.

But here’s the real kicker, the metaphysics behind hedging…

Hedging is trying to protect yourself from something “bad” happening. And NO, you don’t want to do that…

In this example, the suffering enmeshed with hard work serves as the talisman that will protect you from the evil spirits of Bad Luck and Ill Fate.

We live in an attraction based universe. This means you can only experience that which you are tuned into. And there’s not a shred of evidence to the contrary.

Simply put, you cannot hedge your bet and avoid focusing on what you DON’T WANT to happen. Metaphysically, if you’re making your decisions to keep the boogeyman at bay, you’re really inviting him into your house where he will proceed to make himself comfortable by kicking his dirty boots up on your coffee table and lighting a smoke. (As a practical example, who does the scared dog bite in a group of people? The person who is scared of dogs, of course. They both have the same point of focus.)

The antidote to hedging is simple.

Decide.

Decide what you really want. Decide what you will have. Decide how you want it all to be.

It’s not a big secret or anything. And it feels so much better than hedging.

 

My final point for the day, ignore any well-intentioned message that doesn’t bring forth a lighter feeling within you. Including this one.