The Flame Within

 

The Niti Shatakam by Bhartrihari states this:

कदर्थितस्यापि हि धैर्यवृत्तेः न शक्यते धैर्यगुणः प्रमार्ष्टुम् ।

अधोमुखस्यापि कृतस्य वह्नेः नाधः शिखा गच्छति कदाचिदेव ॥

Kadarthitasyāpi hi dhairyavṛtteḥ na śakyate dhairyaguṇaḥ pramārṣṭum | Adhomukhasyāpi kṛtasya vahneḥ nādhaḥ śikhā gacchati kadācideva || 

This means that “"Even when cast down or distressed, a person of courage cannot be stripped of their innate fortitude. Even if you turn a torch upside down, its flame will never point downward; it always leaps upward." 

Fear is just a compass pointing directly toward the places where you have room to expand. Choosing to lean into that discomfort rewrites your internal narrative. 

By choosing to face your discomfort every day, the mountains that once seemed impassable slowly transform into the very terrain you conquer.