Watch Out for the Snakes

Watch out for the snakes, bro.

But not the way you think.

You don't keep snakes out by being on high alert all the time. You keep them out by knowing yourself so well there's nothing left in you for them to grab onto.

Snakes don't come in through anywhere. They come in through the part of you that still needs to be liked, the part that's scared to disappoint people, the part still hunting for validation outside yourself.

When you know who you are, what you want, and where you're going, there's no hook in you...nothing to play on, no tell me I matter energy leaking out the side. You become useless to a manipulator, and they move on.

The ones doing the real inner work end up with the cleanest circles around them. They became people you can't con, and the cons stopped showing up.

Self-knowledge is the filter. Self-assertiveness is the deterrent. The snakes don't get past the door because there is no longer a door for them in the first place.

— Joel Rafidi