The Snooze Button Is Broken: A Revolution In Verse

What if I told you that most of us are asleep,

Even when we think we're wide awake?

And I don't mean the kind of sleep you shake off with a cup of coffee in the morning.

I'm talking about living in a haze.

A fog that keeps you from seeing the world clearly.

A fog you might not even know is there.

It's like going through life on autopilot,

Following a script that someone else wrote for you.

Crazy,

Right?

But here's the thing.

Most people never wake up from it.

And it's not their fault.

Not entirely.

This fog,

It's everywhere.

Our culture,

Our routines,

Our beliefs.

It's carefully designed to keep us distracted,

Confined and playing small.

The good news?

You don't have to settle for this.

You can break through,

Wake up and actually start living,

Not just existing.

Today we're going to talk about that.

About seeing the world,

And yourself,

Clearly for the first time.

About recognising the invisible forces that are shaping your thoughts,

Your actions and your reality.

Not only that,

But we'll also cover how you can reclaim control of your mind,

Your choices and your future.

This isn't just about feeling inspired for the next 24 hours.

This is about real change.

The kind that wakes you up for good.

So let's start here.

If there's a part of you that feels stuck,

Like you're spinning your wheels in life,

Whether it's in your relationships,

Your career,

Or even just how you feel when you wake up every day,

Then trust me,

This is something you need to hear.

Stick with me,

And we'll unpack this together.

Have you ever wondered why it feels so hard to break out of certain habits or patterns in your life?

Even when you really want to?

Why is it that no matter how much you try,

It feels like something keeps pulling you back to where you started?

It's frustrating,

Isn't it?

But here's what you need to know.

It's not just about working harder or wanting it more.

There's something deeper keeping you locked in place.

And until you recognise it,

You're just going to keep spinning.

Let's start with this idea of the fog.

Have you ever felt like you're moving through life,

But it's all.

.

.

How do I put this?

Blurry?

Like you're busy all the time,

But not really getting anywhere?

That's the fog I'm talking about.

It's not just in your head,

It's in the world around you.

And it's so subtle that most of us don't even notice it.

George Orwell,

Yes,

The guy who wrote 1984,

Was onto something when he said,

To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle.

Think about that.

The obvious stuff,

The truth,

It's often hidden in plain sight,

But we've been trained not to see it.

Orwell's whole thing was about how propaganda,

Distractions and fear can cloud our judgement and keep us from thinking for ourselves.

And guess what?

He predicted it decades ago,

But it's more relevant now than ever.

Media,

Algorithms,

The constant bombardment of news and noise.

It's designed to keep us in the fog.

But here's the kicker.

The fog doesn't just come from the outside,

It's internal too.

It's the stories we tell ourselves,

The beliefs we've picked up from society,

From our parents,

From experiences.

Stuff we didn't choose,

But somehow still carry.

And the result?

We end up feeling like we're stuck.

Or worse,

Like that's just how life is supposed to be.

But let me tell you something.

That's not how it's supposed to be.

And more importantly,

You're not stuck.

You've just been playing by rules written by someone or something.

Now before we talk about breaking free from the fog,

Let's take it a step further.

Because waking up to what's really going on isn't enough.

You have to take your power back.

You have to realise that the life you want,

The clarity,

The freedom,

The fulfilment,

It isn't some far-off dream.

It's closer than you think.

And here's why.

Have you ever heard of Viktor Frankl?

This guy was a psychologist who survived the Holocaust,

A man who saw unimaginable suffering and still came out of it with hope.

His book,

Man's Search for Meaning,

Is one of the most powerful things I've ever come across.

Do you know what he said?

That while we can't always control what happens to us,

We can control how we respond.

And in that choice lies our freedom.

Think about that for a second.

Even in the worst possible circumstances,

Frankl found a way to stay connected to his inner power.

He realised that no matter what was happening around him,

No one could touch the part of him that chose his perspective,

His attitude,

His focus.

Now you might be thinking,

OK,

That sounds amazing,

But how does that apply to me?

And I get it.

Maybe your challenges aren't on the level of what Frankl endured.

But here's the truth.

Your power works the same way.

It's there,

Even if you don't see it yet.

The problem is,

Most of us have been taught to look for power in the wrong places,

Outside of ourselves.

We think we'll feel powerful when we get the promotion or when the relationship works out or when we've got the house or the car or whatever it is we're chasing.

But real power,

That comes from inside.

It's about knowing that you get to decide what your life looks and feels like and no one else.

So here's the challenge.

Are you ready to stop handing your power away?

Think about the moments where you felt powerless.

Maybe it's money stress,

Or feeling stuck in a toxic work environment,

Or just not knowing what the next step is in your life.

What if?

Just stay with me for a second.

What if none of that actually controls you?

What if the power to shift all of that has been in you this whole time?

I know it sounds big,

But let me take it a step further.

Remember Harriet Tubman.

She didn't just escape slavery for herself.

She went back,

Over and over again,

Putting her life on the line to lead others to freedom.

Do you think she felt powerful when she was born into the worst kind of oppression?

Probably not,

But at some point she decided to reclaim her power.

And once she did,

It didn't just change her life,

It changed history.

That's what happens when one person wakes up,

Stands in their power,

And takes action.

It's like lighting a spark that can grow into a wildfire.

And you've got that spark too.

It's there.

It's been there all along.

So what does it mean for you?

Maybe it starts with recognising that your limitations,

The ones you feel so stuck in,

Don't define you.

They're just part of the fog we talked about earlier.

And the moment you see through them,

That's the moment you begin to reclaim your power.

And when that happens,

It doesn't just lift you,

It lifts the people around you too.

And here's something I want to hit on because it's so important.

You don't have to know every step of the way forward right now.

You don't have to have all the answers.

Waking up doesn't mean you suddenly have everything figured out.

It just means you're finally seeing clearly.

And when that happens,

Trust me,

The rest begins to unfold in ways you can't even imagine.

But,

And this is a big one,

You have to be willing to challenge the stories you've been sold.

What if the things you've been told about who you are,

What you're capable of,

Or how the world works aren't true?

What if those stories have been keeping you in the fog?

Let's take a quick example.

Edward Snowden.

You've probably heard of him.

He blew the whistle on worldwide government surveillance programmes because he believed people had the right to know the truth about how they were being monitored and controlled.

Whatever your opinions are about him,

You can't deny the power of what he did.

He challenged a narrative that most people accepted without question.

And in doing so,

He woke up millions of people to a reality they'd been blind to.

So let me ask you this.

What narratives are you accepting right now in your life?

What stories,

About yourself,

About others,

About the world,

Are keeping you stuck?

I know that might feel uncomfortable.

It's not easy to challenge the very beliefs that have shaped how you see yourself and the world.

But here's the truth.

If you don't challenge them,

They'll keep running your life.

It's like trying to update an old programme on your computer while still using the original floppy disk.

You're never going to get the new system running unless you remove what's outdated.

And let's be real,

Letting go of those old stories isn't as simple as just deciding one day,

OK,

Done,

I'm over it.

It's a process.

It takes awareness,

Effort.

And one thing most people don't want to hear,

Patience.

But the good news is,

Once you start,

Even if the progress feels slow,

It creates momentum.

Now,

I want to make this practical for you because I know abstract ideas can sound great.

But what do you actually do?

Start here.

Pay attention to the thoughts that go through your head when you face challenges or even opportunities.

Let's say an opportunity comes up at work.

Maybe it's a leadership role you've been eyeing.

But before you can even process the details,

You hear that little voice in your head.

You know the one.

What if I'm not good enough?

What if I fail?

People like me don't get roles like that.

Sound familiar?

That's the script.

That's the narrative.

And sometimes it's so subtle you don't even realise it's there.

It feels like a fact,

Not an opinion.

But here's the thing.

It's not a fact.

It's a belief.

One that's been planted over years,

Maybe even decades,

By experiences or other people's expectations.

And guess what?

The best way to rewrite that belief is to challenge it,

Even just a little.

Ask yourself,

What if this isn't the whole story?

What if I'm more capable than I think?

What if the only thing holding me back is my own fear of stepping into something new?

When you start to ask these kinds of questions,

You don't just poke holes in those old beliefs.

You start to see what's possible beyond them.

And let me tell you something.

Possibility is powerful.

Let me share a story you might not have heard.

Ever heard of Greta Thunberg?

You probably associate her with climate change activism.

But let's rewind to before she became this global phenomenon.

The truth is,

Greta wasn't born with a microphone in her hand,

Or thousands of supporters behind her.

In fact,

She faced struggles most people wouldn't even want to talk about.

She battled depression,

And a deep feeling of helplessness about the state of the world.

But here's what she did.

Instead of letting that hopelessness define her,

She turned it into action.

Her first school strike for the climate?

It wasn't some massive global movement.

It was just one girl,

Sitting outside the Swedish parliament with a sign.

No fanfare.

No audience.

Just a belief that her voice mattered.

Now look at what's happened since.

Her small,

Consistent actions sparked an international movement.

Greta didn't wait for the fog to clear before she acted.

She acted.

And in doing so,

She helped clear the fog for millions of others.

So what's your parliament moment?

What's the small action you can take,

Today,

That could plant the seed for massive change in your life?

It doesn't have to be flashy.

In fact,

Most meaningful change doesn't start with a bang.

It starts with a whisper.

A small,

What if.

Let's bring it back to you.

Maybe there's something on your heart right now.

A relationship you want to repair.

A project you've dreamed of starting.

A career leap you've been too scared to make.

What if today was the day you took the tiniest step toward it?

Not the whole leap.

Just a step.

And if you're sitting there thinking,

But what if I get it wrong?

Or,

What if I fail?

Good.

That means you're asking the right questions.

Let me tell you why.

Failure isn't the opposite of success.

It's a part of the process.

Look at innovators like Thomas Edison.

This guy literally failed over 1,

000 times before he got the light bulb right.

Can you even imagine?

A thousand failures.

Most of us give up after one or two.

When someone asked Edison about it,

He didn't even see those thousands of attempts as failures.

He famously said,

I have not failed.

I've just found 10,

000 ways that won't work.

And here's the key.

Edison didn't focus on the failures.

He focused on the idea.

The light bulb already existed in his mind.

It was real to him even when it didn't yet exist in the physical world.

That's the kind of mindset we're talking about here.

See,

Your vision,

Whatever it is,

It's already real.

It exists as a possibility waiting for you to align with it.

Let's get a little deeper because I know someone out there is still thinking.

But how do I make it happen?

The first thing you need to let go of is this idea that you have to figure everything out all at once.

You don't.

You don't need to map out every single step right now.

What you need to do is trust that as you move forward,

The next step will reveal itself.

The right ideas,

The right people,

The right opportunities,

They'll meet you the moment you're ready to receive them.

And here's the catch.

If you're clinging too tightly to fear or doubt,

Or even to the how of it all,

You'll miss them.

Because when you're consumed with resistance,

There's no room for inspiration to show up.

Let's simplify.

Desire plus non-resistance equals results.

That's it.

When you know what you want and you get out of your own way,

The rest follows naturally.

But let's talk about what getting out of your own way actually means.

It means relaxing the constant need to control everything.

It means letting go of the idea that you need to hustle harder,

Stress more,

Or push yourself to the breaking point.

Sure,

Action is necessary,

But it's not the kind of action that grinds you down.

It's aligned action.

The kind that feels almost intuitive.

And you can't access that alignment if you're gripping onto your problems with both hands.

If you're constantly tuned into what's missing,

What's broken,

Or what's wrong in your life,

That's what you're going to keep experiencing.

Here's an example.

Have you ever noticed that when you focus on being late,

You hit every red light?

Or when you're worrying about money,

Unexpected expenses seem to pile up out of nowhere.

It's not magic.

It's perspective.

Whatever you give your attention to grows.

So stop feeding your energy into resistance.

Start feeding it into the vision of the life you want to create.

You probably think this sounds too simple.

And in a way,

It is simple.

But that doesn't make it easy.

Our brains are wired to focus on problems.

It's survival instinct.

But you're not here to just survive.

You're here to thrive.

And thriving requires you to retrain where your focus goes.

Here's a little trick.

Imagine the thing you want is already done.

Not someday.

Not in the future.

But right now.

Imagine the house,

The relationship,

The career.

It's already yours.

How would you feel waking up to that reality every day?

Hold on to that feeling.

That feeling is what aligns you with the ideas you need and the actions you'll take to make it happen.

But don't just stop there.

Take that feeling and let it propel you into action.

Maybe it's sending an email,

Making a call,

Writing down a plan,

Or simply sitting with some quiet intention.

Whatever it is,

Just start.

Let me wrap this up with one final thought.

Every step you take,

No matter how small,

Is rewriting the script of your life.

You don't have to change everything overnight.

You just have to begin.

And when you do,

You'll find that all those roadblocks you thought were holding you back weren't roadblocks at all.

They were just detours steering you towards something better.

So if you're ready,

Truly ready,

To wake up,

To step out of the fog,

And to rewrite your story,

Let this be your starting point.

Take action,

No matter how small,

And trust that everything you need is already waiting for you.

If you enjoyed today's talk,

I believe that you would love our top-rated courses here on Insight Timer.

Over 4,

000 students already went through our courses and the responses are amazing.

Our goal here at Healing Waves is to help you on your transformation journey by combining ancient wisdom with modern science.

Thank you for being with me today.

I appreciate you and I hope to see you again soon.