Struggle is universal. Our relationship with it is not.
In The Inner Fitness Revolution, actress and author Tina Lifford explores resilience, self-acceptance and what she calls inner fitness — the practices that can help us meet life with less struggle and more peace.
In my recent conversation with Tina, one area we explored was this: What if we trained our inner lives as intentionally as we train our bodies or educate our minds? What practices might help us become more capable of meeting difficulty without being defined by it?
Photo courtesy of Tina Lifford
Tina describes three aspects of the self: the surviving self, thriving self and infinite self.
Most of us know the surviving self well. Our brains are wired to notice threats and difficulty. But what about the thriving self? Or the infinite self — the part of us that Tina suggests exists beyond circumstance and struggle?
How do we learn to inhabit those selves as readily as the one designed to survive? And what exactly is the infinite self? Consciousness? God? Source? These are some of the questions Tina and I explore in the latest episode of the Voreen Podcast.
If you’re interested in changing your relationship with struggle, rather than simply becoming better at enduring it, I think you’ll find something worthwhile in her perspective.
“Inner Fitness, Self-Acceptance & Moving from Surviving to Thriving with Tina Lifford” is available now on the Voreen Podcast. Click below to listen or find it anywhere you like to listen to podcasts.