Warning: Adult language ahead.

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Total click-bait, I know.

Sneaky, I’m not. But, shit—it’s the internet age. You have to practically slam people into oncoming traffic to get them to pay attention—even to themselves.

Especially to themselves.

I won’t disguise this one in metaphor.

The worst thing you can possibly do—and that which you do incessantly—is to poop all over yourself.

Not the toddler stage kinda poop, either.

I’m talking adult poop.

The adult form of of self-poop is being hard, mean, condescending, jerkish, terrible, or otherwise horrible to yourself.

Yes, I realize that you already know this.

And, yet…

You still do it all. the. time.

Worse yet, you don’t even realize the extent to which you’re doing it.

If you counted—seriously—I bet you’d find that you spread this shit all over yourself no fewer than 10 times a day.

At least!

And, what’s the impact?

That’s a really important question!

I’d say, it’s killing you.

You and your dreams.

How’s that, for starters?

But, I’m so sorry! You already know all this!

It often happens to me when I don’t start my day early enough.

I feel like I’m wasting my day–and my life–and I start beating myself up. Then, I start feeling like shit. And, then, I feel like a loser. Then, I start doubting myself. And, then…it’s hard to want to create anything at all. It’s a horribly vicious downward spiral.

So, this:

We have to become vigilantes about the shit we allow into our sacred space.

You know how aircraft carriers all have fighter jets that get deployed whenever an unknown ship or aircraft gets too close?

You’ve gotta be like those fucking fighter jets.

You’ve got to be proactive and meet the enemy out there before that shit gets in range of disturbing your inner space.

See how mean this fighter jet looks?

You gotta get that mean about protecting your boundaries.

This is fucking war!

The stakes couldn’t be higher.

We’re talking self-preservation here.

You’ve got to become a guardian of you and your galaxy.

How do you begin?

You begin by just noticing. Start keeping track of every time you poop on yourself, whether in action, speech, or thought.

It will be easiest to recognize when you’re doing it in action, harder in speech, and hardest when it comes to your thoughts.

So, just begin to pay attention.

Put your intention on paying attention.

Reflect on how you want to treat yourself.

This will transform not only your creative capacity, but all of your relationships.

So, be a vigilante.

Be that mean fighter jet and protect your sacred space.

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Author: Alex Obed 
Image: Full Metal Jacket
Editor: Travis May