Everyone has their illusion and it will probably remain for a lifetime unless . . .

Unless it runs into reality. Reality is stronger than a brick wall and it won’t buckle under pressure. It’s a mainstay in our lives and it assumes the role of “Bubble Buster in Chief.”

I’m under the illusion that Tom Brady will play football forever. The minute he retires, reality will destroy my illusion.

What illusion are you holding on to that reality will dismantle in a heartbeat?

One of the defining markers of an illusion is wanting something so desperately that we’re willing to look the other way when evidence to the contrary is on display.

Your illusion will burst. It’s only a question of when.

The less painful way to keep reality from upsetting your apple cart is to dismantle your illusion yourself.

It’s a 2 step process.

1. Recognize your illusion (you already know what it is).

2. Unravel it thread by thread so it’s no longer the whole cloth you’ve wrapped around your head.

Here’s an illusion many people have: waiting for someone to knock on their door with a solution to their situation. Chances are, that illusion has been in place a long time. Perhaps it’s time to recognize it as ridiculous instead of sublime.

Reminds me of a story I’ve told before . . . one of my teachers asked the class what we would do if the plane we were copiloting had it’s engine conk out and we were heading for the ground at 500 miles per hour. Countless answers were given and every one of them was met with this question: “What would you do if that didn’t work?” When we ran out of answers, he asked if we would like the correct answer. We all said an emphatic, “Yes!”

His answer was, “Do anything else.”

To prevent reality from crashing our illusion into the ground, we have to do “anything else” to dismantle it now.

Illusions keep us holding in place waiting for a fairy godmother to show her face and lead us to the land of milk and honey.

Here’s the reality: We have to take some action on our own to let the air out of our illusion that’s overblown, otherwise we’re a helpless passenger on an out of control drone.

All the best,

John

Hear the recorded version below.