How do you feel when you have done something you really weren’t sure about?
Proud of yourself?
Confident and willing to try other new things?
Not willing to try anything new again?
Wow Wee! I recently did my 21-day Facebook Live challenge. I made it through. Not perfection but with commitment and willingness, knowing if I could help one (1) person find some hope and possibility, I’ve made a difference.
I now know I can do Facebook Lives. I know I need more skills on perfecting the light and positioning. I have more confidence about my abilities even when I’m scared.
As the quote by Ralph Emerson Waldo says, “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.”
What have you wanted to do but are uncertain? Or you don’t trust you can do it?
Whenever you do something new, it does produce anxiety and uncertainty. But, on the other side is the great feeling of confidence and excitement of having pushed yourself or achieved what you wanted.
What I know is when you want something bad enough, you figure out a way to make it happen – even if you are afraid or uncertain about how to make it happen.
Just like this weekend, I had 2 of my grandsons at the park. There was a climber that was up high that the 4-year old whizzed by doing. His 2-year old brother wanted to do it so I offered to help him. He was quite afraid. But we talked through it and with my help and his determination, he did it. He did it again and again. Finally, about the fourth time, he told me he wanted to do it on his own. By the end, he didn’t even hesitate. He was so excited and proud of himself.
That can be you, too.
Too often people stay stuck because they don’t know how to make something happen.
Don’t let that be you.
As you begin pursuing something new, find the tools, strategies, and ideas that resonant with you. That make you feel lighter and brighter.
Have a future focus. Start the search. Find others who have done it and would encourage you. Like when we wanted to take an African Safari, we were hesitant. It was a big investment. Everyone we talked to whom had done the safari said it was worth every bit. Thus, the planning and the saving to make it happen began.
Look at what you want rather than where you are. It keeps you moving forward. Just like when I was doing the 21-day Facebook Live, the momentum kept me moving forward. I celebrated each day that I did it. I would be so excited with the comments people would make. I was proud of myself for sticking with it even when I chopped off my chin or couldn’t look the right way.
As you are pursuing forward in uncharted territory:
Be easy on yourself. Move forward, baby steps and before you know it, you have hit your goal. Think 1% change in navigation and all of a sudden, you are at a new destination. Keep the all or nothing mindset packed away. It’s in the little actions that create a big difference.
Leave the expectations aside – the I should be moving faster, I should not be afraid, I shouldn’t feel so insecure.
None of that is helpful.
You are where you are. Just don’t stay there. Stay in action.
Trade the expectations for appreciation and gratitude. Appreciate what you can do. Just like with our African Safari. Five years before we actually went, we were going to go but plans changed. I didn’t lose sight we wanted to go. I ordered brochures. I saved. Appreciate the steps you are taking. Allow yourself to see the possibilities and the changes you are making. Be grateful for where you are but have excitement for where you want to go.
Life is about the tiny revelations of “I did it,” “I made it.” This is how I did it.
Find the support and the help you need to keep moving forward. Is it a church group, mentors or a life coach? Life coaches help you find your way. I help you make it possible and help you unload the burden and stress of figuring out what to do.
Pursuing forward allows you new insights that can help you when you are uncertain or feel afraid to try something you want.
You realize you were able to do something you had no idea of how to do. Feels satisfying and fulfilling.
You have insights that help you have more compassion for yourself and others when they are trying something new because you have crossed a threshold and knows what it takes.
Keep moving forward – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Use your insights to reach higher and higher to the life you are meant to live.