In March 2019, I did a firewalk.
I was an unwilling participant at Tony Robbins’ “Unleash the Power Within” 4-day event in LA.
(How this came to be is a story I’m not ready to share.)
But what matters most is that nothing in my life changed after I walked 10 feet on hot coals at 11pm on a Tuesday night.
Along with thousands of other attendees, I stood in line at one of multiple coal beds while rhythmic music was thumping.
I was seriously freaked out by what I was about to do. And yet, I was determined to see it through.
We’d been prepped for this moment with mind-over-matter pep talks from Tony.
It was now up to us to get ourselves ‘in state’ as he calls it. Where the adrenaline is pumping and you are scared but in control of your emotions and standing in your power (or something like that).
If my state was anything it was dreamlike.
Nothing felt quite real.
A few minutes earlier, we’d been shepherded to a lot outside the convention center. It was dark out and the only illumination came from the coal embers and small flashlights carried by members of Tony’s team.
There were about 4-5 of them assigned to each coal bed. People I didn’t know who I now looked to for reassurance like I do the flight attendants on a bumpy flight.
They had us clapping to the beat of the music, making sure our energy was high.
I didn’t believe any of this shit about harnessing my fear to unleash my power.
But I didn’t want to get burned. So, I tried hard to pump myself up and go along with the whole thing.
Before I knew it, I’d made it across the coals and someone was spraying my feet with a hose.
That was it. We walked back inside to get our shoes and went back to our hotel.
And I had in fact burned my feet – a bit. Three or four small blisters quickly formed on my soles. It was quite unpleasant.
Of course, this was probably my fault. I hadn’t fully committed to the thing.
It was my own mind that was to blame.
As the website says: “If you are committed to succeeding no matter what, the sacrifice of walking on hot coals won’t be a question – it will be the incremental step toward unlocking an extraordinary life.”
Oh please.
Out of the hundreds of thousands of people who have done the firewalk, I’m pretty sure most of us are far from unlocking an extraordinary life.
I find these kinds of claims unsettling.
There’s an insidious sense of blame contained in the stuff that gurus spew forth.
It’s all on you. Your circumstances don’t matter. It’s how you think and maintain control over your emotions that makes all the difference.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe that our minds are powerful and can indeed be the catalyst for doing things we never thought possible.
But I don’t believe that being in state or mastering your thoughts is a prerequisite for success.
Creating good habits, doing uncomfortable things, committing to your work and knowing what it means to you will have a huge impact on your growth.
Even if you’re not willing to walk on fire and you regularly find yourself in a bad mood.
Lynn xo
P.s. I think it’s possible for you to do amazing things without consistent positive thinking.
I’m always here for a chat if you’d like some help doing those things.