We all feel stuck at some point in our lives. We all feel like we have challenges in our health, marriage, body, and relationship with God at some point and we can’t overcome them. That feeling puts us in a drift through life.

What is the drift? The drift is what keeps us stuck

The drift is best known from Napoleon Hill’s book Outwitting the Devil. It was written over 80 years ago. A drift is when a man finds himself in a hypnotic rhythm that seems to keep him stuck in a certain state of mind. 

The state of mind that most men feel stuck in is fear. The drift happens when you operate out of fear. When you feel stuck, it’s because you are afraid of moving to the next level.

There are 7 fears that cause a man to drift.

1- Fear of poverty. 

But the scarcity mentality is contagious. When you operate from a place of not having enough, you will repel opportunities. The scarcity mentality will repel the people who want to give you money. You have to catch yourself if you are operating from a place of scarcity.

Change your relationship with money. Maybe you grew up not having money. You have to rewire what money means to you. Money is an exchange of value. Whoever brings the most value to the market makes the most money. Nobody gives a shit about what you want or what you think you’re entitled to, the market only cares about what value you bring. But if you’re always taking and not giving, you’re always going to live in scarcity. You have to be willing to give. Life is only going to give you what you’re willing to give life.

2- Fear of illness

Stress kills your body. The more you worry, the more stress you bring to your body. The more you worry about getting sick, the more energy you drain from your body. Weaponize your body. The mind can heal the body. Whatever your thoughts are, they can either give you energy or drain your energy. Whatever food you eat, how well you sleep, and the exercise you do are the three things that will create a healthy body. But first, you have to focus on healing. If you don’t heal, it’s because you’re constantly worried about the negative shit that’s going on in your life. How can you improve those three things? Without energy, you will always fall short. That’s why you need to be aware of your food, sleep, and exercise habits.

3- Fear of not being loved

Every overachiever feels like he is not enough. That’s the gift and the curse. The gift is that you will do more than the average person because you want to prove that you are enough. You go out of your way to prove that you’re the best. The curse is that you always feel like you’re not enough. You’re always chasing. You have to watch out for the gift and the curse. You can’t attract love if you don’t love yourself. If you’re waiting for someone else to fulfill you, you’re always going to need validation from other people. You have to work on yourself. Feed yourself, love yourself, so you can give love to others. If you feel like you’re not worthy, you’re going to attract unworthy people into your life.

4- Fear of getting old

It’s inevitable, you’re going to get old. But you choose how you want to age. You can believe that you are getting stronger or getting weaker. You have to choose. 

5- Fear of death

We are all going to die. You are afraid of regret. You don’t want to live with regret. You don’t want to look back and wish you had done everything differently. Not being able to fulfill your purpose in this lifetime is what you are truly afraid of. You can use that feeling to create urgency in your life. Go all in, and think about your legacy. If you fear death, you’re not going to live. 

6- Fear of criticism

In order to overcome this fear, you have to stop thinking about what people will say about you. Nobody likes to be judged, but if you don’t stand out, you are not leading. You can’t be a leader and be afraid of criticism. Let the critics sit on the sidelines while you are on the battlefield. Critics will never know victory or defeat. They’ll tell you what to do, but they’ll never show you.

7- Fear of disappointing others

We hate letting people down. It’s impossible to please everyone. If you are trying to take care of everyone else and taking care of yourself last, you are going to lose. 

When you operate out of fear, you attract more fear and begin to drift through life. When you operate out of scarcity, you attract more scarcity; when you are afraid to lose money, you can’t make money; when you are afraid of criticism, you don’t lead.

When you are in a drift, you begin to sabotage your progress. The imposter whispers in your ear that you’re not enough. You drift when you listen to that voice and believe you don’t have what it takes to lead. You react to life instead of being proactive. A man who reacts to life is going to be weak.

You have to be aware that you’re in a drift. Awareness is the first step. 

The second is making a conscious choice to stop operating out of fear. If you’re operating out of scarcity, you have to make the conscious choice to shift. Use that feeling of scarcity as fuel to bring innovation to the marketplace.

What keeps you in the drift is the illusion that you should be somewhere else in life. The energy you create when you argue with reality will attract other people with the same energy. Misery loves company. You’ll find more people who will complain with you. 

Make a choice not to complain. Make a conscious choice to stop operating from fear by finding gratitude in your current reality. If you can’t find the gift in the present moment, you will not be able to create a compelling future. If you can’t appreciate the level you’re at in life now, you can’t get to the next level. The next level will require you to stop complaining. The next level will require you to become more, not complain that you don’t have enough. That is the conscious choice you have to make: Are you going to live in fear, or live with purpose?  

When you let go of the illusion that things should be better, you create the space for growth. Growth only happens when you are stretched out of your comfort zone. Growth happens when life hits you. When you don’t have the answer and you have to surrender, you can have faith that you will figure shit out. The opposite of fear is faith. Faith is believing in something bigger than yourself. Faith is knowing that you’re here for the right reasons. 

Innovation happens when you want a different outcome. When you’re tired of being stuck, if you’re sick of living in fear, if you’re sick and tired of living in scarcity, then now is the time to bring innovation and get a bigger outcome. What can you do differently? The drift can be your biggest teacher if you stop arguing with reality. 

3 Questions to ask yourself to learn from the drift

1- What happened that triggered the drift? 

What happened that made you feel that way? It could have been someone who criticized you, or your business not doing well. What fear triggered the drift? What thought process got you into this state? 

2- Why did you feel this way?

Go a little deeper into your subconscious pattern. What’s the trigger? If you’re afraid of scarcity, the trigger is you feel like you’re not enough. If you’re afraid of being criticized, the trigger is that you’re afraid of what other people may say about you because you feel like you’re not good enough. 

3- What can you learn from this? 

What can you learn from the drift? Look for destructive patterns that are showing up. What patterns do you not want to continue running? The pattern of living in fear is a program. You were programmed at some point to be afraid of money. Or being afraid of being loved. Look at where the programs come from so you can break them. 

What happened?

Why did it happen? 

What can you learn from it?

There’s always a gift to every challenge. Pain is necessary for you to grow. If you want to get to the next level, you’re going to experience pain. The bigger the vision, the bigger the pain. The question is do you have what it takes to withstand the pain and get fucking stronger?

Pain can also be addictive. Don’t have the same pain you had last year. You should constantly seek out better quality challenges and high quality problems. That’s growth. Hiding from the drive will only expand the pain. You can’t sweep the pain under the rug. Now is the time to stop sweeping shit under the rug and pay attention to it.

Self-awareness is the key to self-mastery. Mastery is not easy. It takes dedication and discipline. 

You have to be aware of what’s taking you through the drift. But what’s the other option? The other option is drifting through life arguing with reality. The average person is blaming everyone else but themselves.

Don't ask for life to be easy. Ask for it to be worth it.

If you’re here right now, you know that your mission is bigger than you. You have been called to do something that will create a legacy. People are looking to you as a leader. If you operate from fear, you’re not going to allow God to use you. If you operate from fear, you’re going to be drifting through life instead of creating your destiny.

Ask yourself, of the 7 fears listed above, which one scares you the most? Which one are you living in right now? What is preventing you from going all in? What has caused you to drift in the past? 

Which of the 7 fears triggers you into the drift? You can look at every one of those fears and use it as fuel. Every time you feel that fear, you can respond to it with the opposite energy. Fuck fear. Strengthen your faith. That’s what leaders do. Use the pain of the drift for fuel.

For more insights and to connect with Raul Villacis, check out his Youtube channel and other social media platforms.

"Learn it, live it, love life." - Raul Villacis

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