Inside the Clemson locker room before their College Football Playoff Championship Game, the Tigers’ Head Coach Dabo Swinney had a message for his team.
“When the light that shines inside you is greater than the light shining on you, there is nothing to be afraid of.”
I love this message. I realize it seems cliche and hokey to talk about the light inside of us, but it’s become a cliche for a good reason: It rings true across time and culture.
While some have referred to our light inside, others have called it a fire inside, a burning passion, brilliance, shine, illumination, a radiant light. When we are performing at a very high level, others describe us as being on fire. The analogy is apt because it seems to match our experience.
What I really love about Dabo’s statement is that it combines our inner brilliance with the idea that the outside world can’t dampen or outshine our inner fire. When we remember that our light can shine no matter what is going on around us, we have nothing to fear.
Other statements that describe this condition are rising above the fray, overcoming the odds, and living from the inside-out.
When you awaken to the understanding that your brilliance exists despite anything going on in the world around you, you gain incredible freedom in your mental and emotional life. You no longer need to waste precious resources searching for the causes of your thoughts and feelings. You no longer need to cast blame. Your light shines because of you, and nobody and nothing outside you can change that.
Even you can’t change it. Like the sun, the source of all life in the world, your light is always shining. When it seems like your fire is out, it’s only because your mind is clouding that fact or turning you away from it temporarily. Be aware of the illusion that your fire has gone out. Trust that it is still burning bright, fueling your ability to make the plays of your life.
It’s normal to be cold and cloudy and turn away from your light at times. It happens to all of us. I suspect that’s one reason why Dabo reminded his troops of this before the game. It’s easy to forget at times. The world can seem harsh, but it is no match for your inner fire.
Whether you believe this light is your soul or simply chemical energy of neurotransmitters swirling through your brain makes no difference. Your thoughts create your experience of the world, and the outside world is simply a canvas you project your thoughts onto. When you understand and trust that you create your experience of the world internally, you no longer fear situations such as success or failure. Indeed those terms begin to seem completely made up, and you begin to gain freedom to create an experience of the world that you desire. This is the beauty of the energy of life: It creates its experience from the inside-out.
So here is to hoping that you can also experience the light and brilliance you were born to manifest. Let your light shine brighter than any circumstance in your life. You have nothing to fear.
Making the Play 