Living in Denial: Don’t Let Your Inner Pig Win

Are you living in denial?

It never ceases to amaze me at how good we are at ignoring obvious problems in our lives.  We seem so willing and able to deny and rationalize the very things that make us miserable.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that self-improvement is hard, but what’s the alternative?  Are we going to simply wallow in our bad behavior forever?

Living life to the fullest demands that we address our issues regardless of how big or small they may be. 

An Introduction to Your Inner Pig

It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.
~ Bill Watterson

I’m convinced that deep inside, we all have an inner pig.  It embraces all the wrong things in life.  It relishes being lazy and wallowing around in the mud all day.

Our inner pig is happy in its pen.  It doesn’t want to venture out beyond where it feels safe.  Yes, it may appear cleaner and greener outside the fence, but in here it is comfortable and comfort rules for pigs.

Inside the pen, our inner pig has mud to keep it cool and to keep the pesky flies off.  The pig pen does get a little a little messy sometimes, but that’s okay.  As I’ve said, the mud has its payoffs.

For those that aren’t used to it, the smell can get pretty bad, but to us pigs, that’s the scent of home sweet home.  You grow accustomed to it and really can’t understand why anyone could live any other way.

After all, we get our regular daily supply of slop and we have all our other pig friends to keep us company.  What more could one ask for?

Your Inner Pig Is Denial’s Secret Weapon

Yes, our inner pig is content right here in the pen.  It doesn’t matter how messy or stinky life gets to your inner pig.  It believes the deeper the mud, the better.

Your pig is denial’s secret weapon.  The pig helps to keep us firmly anchored in our messy lives.  It refuses to get up and out of the muck.

If you try to move and clean things up a little, your inner pig will start squealing to split your eardrums.  If you try to catch your inner pig and quiet it, good luck.  It is amazingly fast and so slick that you never seem to be able to really get your hands around it.

For most of us, we’ve long ago given up fighting our inner pig.  We’ve just given in to it.  Of course, no one wants to admit this, so we live in denial.  We listen to the pig and recite what it tells us.  We’ve been doing this for so long that most of us don’t even recognize the difference between ourselves and the pig.  We’ve become one in the same.

Identifying the Pig in You

If it makes you happy, then why the hell are you so sad?
~ Sheryl Crow

I think the pig is the reason that we persist in doing things even when they don’t really make us happy.  Maybe the things we do made us happy at one time, but we never evolved.  We have stagnated and we keep doing the old things because the pig has us convinced that anything new is too scary.

Our unhappiness manifests itself in numerous ways.  We have fits of rage.  We overspend.  We bounce from one relationship to the next.  We overindulge in food or alcohol.  We sabotage ourselves. 

Basically, we live in denial.  We have obvious problems that everyone else sees, but we deny the problems and keep living in the muck because we’ve surrendered to the pig.

The problems are really just symptoms.  The disease is that we’ve given in to the pig.  We’ve accepted a fate that is far lower than where we should be living.

How do you know if you’ve surrendered to the pig?  Look at your life.  Do you display any of the symptoms?  Are you really happy or are you forever seeking a greater high hoping to reclaim the satisfaction you once felt?

How to Put the Pig In Its Place

The first step in starting to win your life back from the pig is to identify what’s happening and put your foot down.  Face the pig and let it know that you’re back.

In other words, stop living in denial.  Do an honest evaluation of your life.  How are your finances?  How are your relationships?  How is your career?  How happy are you?

If things are pretty messy in your pen, then start taking some small steps to win your life back.  In fact, the steps you take can be very small, but if you keep on taking them eventually you’ll start to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Again, I’d ask, “What’s the alternative?”  Are you just going to dig yourself deeper into the mud?

That’s no way to live.  You have everything you need inside of you to beat the pig.  Stir your heart.  Remember your dreams.  Reach for a better life!

Photo by guy schmidt