To take more risks, reframe your flaws as “juicy stuff”

The opinions expressed by entrepreneurs contributors are their own.

In Western society, we often categorize things in black or white: good or bad, strength or weakness, success or failure. But in Tibetan Buddhism there is a saying: The peacock eats poison and that is what makes the colors of its tail so bright. In the metaphor, "poison" refers to any particular characteristics that trip us up as we strive to be better. We are conditioned to denigrate these parts of ourselves as flaws, but Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön offers another approach. She simply calls it "the messy stuff". Or sometimes, even better: "The juicy stuff."

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In his book Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living, Chödrön writes: "In Buddhist teachings, disordered things are called 'klesha ,' which means poison. Summing it all up in the simplest possible formula, there are three main poisons: passion, aggression and ignorance. We could talk about it in different ways - for example, envy, dislike and "I don't care". Addictions of all kinds fall into the category of craving, which is wanting, wanting, wanting – feeling that we need to have some sort of resolution. Aversion encompasses violence, rage, hatred and negativity of all kinds, as well as irritation of all kinds. . What about ignorance? These days it's usually called denial."

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