The Battle Within – The Two Wolves at War

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The Battle Within – The Two Wolves at War

We do it every year. We promise that we’ll eat healthier, lose those extra pounds, exercise more often. And every year we break our January resolutions. Potentially your inner voice sabotages your efforts. You know the voice I mean, the one that creeps into your mind and tells you “go ahead and cheat, you won’t stick to your diet anyway, quit fighting it, just be happy and eat what you want…”

If you don’t win this “Inner Battle” you’ll likely quit your diet or slip back into old, bad, harmful habits (like “yo-yo” dieting). You cannot reach your goals if you give up or quit, agreed?

Have you ever found yourself in a fierce argument with yourself? Have you ever distressed yourself over a decision you needed to make, thinking that first you should do one thing and then that you should do the opposite? Have you ever found yourself full of uncertainty and indecisiveness over an important (or perhaps even minor) matter? Most of us have. Inner conflict is part of the human condition.

These kinds of situations occur all the time and are part of our lives. We are constantly choosing between two options, both of which have pros and cons. In this situation we tend to see things as black and white, good or bad, yes or no, which limits our options, and locks us into “either/or” choices.

You see, each of us carries around the good and bad voice. One of them is negative, and lives in a constant state of fear and mistrust. It expects failure, and is content to accept the status quo. This personality always worries, is full of doubt and stress. This personality attracts poor health and conditions of poverty.

The other personality has a positive outlook on life, and expects good things to come its way. It is kind, generous, and trustful. It does not concern itself with things outside of its control, and it lives in the present, the here and now. It seeks abundance and looks for the opportunity to serve others. It attracts good health, strong relationships, and many other riches.

Nothing written represents this inner battle better than this:

Two Wolves – A Cherokee Tale

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Each one of us, I am sure, has had similar experiences in our own lives with an inner struggle that we cannot completely control nor understand. Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside of us, with there always being a constant tug of war between them both. We must find a way to feed and nourish the right Wolf in our life, so to allow the good, kind, generous, patient, and forgiving Wolf in us to be fed, nurtured and encouraged. So to change our life we have to start with ourselves, and the change must start within.

We will always have a dual voice, an inner war, two Wolves living in us. We can do nothing to stop this inner turmoil, with the two opposing voices fighting for their dominance. No matter what we do we can never be completely in control of this our dual voice. Still we can choose, like the Grandfather in the story, to feed and nourish the Wolf that we want to be most visible.

You must control your mind instead of letting your mind control you. Make the decision today to consciously take control. When you hear yourself talking negatively, when you start thinking in a negative way, be alert, and stop! Once you consciously manage your inner voice you will totally change your life! Whenever your inner voice is negative or obstructive, consciously choose a thought that is supportive and your brain will begin to refer to all the successes and positive experiences that support that thought.

By managing your inner voice you will positively take charge of your life!

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About the author: Larry Lewis
My name is Larry Lewis, Health & Wellness Life Coach, Founder of Healthy Lifestyles Living, contributor to the Huffington Post, recently featured in the Sunday Mail Newspaper and somebody who went from being an owner of a chain of gyms and fitness fanatic, to a visually impaired overweight and incredibly sick person. Read about my illness to wellness story.
2 Comments
  1. Debra says:

    I love the Cherokee tale. Grand post on The Battle Within! Such encouragement to manage those inner voices.
    May the new year bring you many blessings.
    Debra

    • admin says:

      Thank you so much for your kind words Debra.Have a healthy and prosperous New Year filled with great happiness!

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