Shaking things up.

I’m sitting at my local farm, drinking coffee (they have a market) & wondering why in the world it is that I never come here to work? This is heaven.

It is fall. I’m looking out the window at a beautiful field, mountains and autumn leaves. I spy an orchard.

I also notice a tree across the way and the leaves look like little twinkling lights flickering on and off because of the wind and the way the light is hitting it.

This is joy.

We get into our routines and forget to change things up.

We sometimes forget to respond to what is happening in the moment by pivoting or creatively problem solving.

I recently got stuck with a tech issue that seemed impossible to solve. And I couldn’t find the right person to help me with the problem.

The thought that kept coursing through my brain was “I am not technically savvy. I’ll never get this figured out.”

As it turns out I could and I did. Surprise, surprise.

There is a gift and an opportunity in whatever challenge we are facing.

When we step out of our comfort zone, do something that feels spontaneous, out of the ordinary for us, we have aha moments.

I was coaching someone earlier on public speaking.

As a professor at a university, he wanted to work on being more engaging with his students; express his passion for the topic he’s lecturing, waken their interest, inspire and kindle enthusiasm.

Keeping the attention of students can be challenging at times. (Teachers, I feel you!)

The other challenge? Shifting our mindset around what’s possible as it relates to how we communicate, how we use our voices and the ability to convey our personalities and enthusiasm.

There are a lot of beliefs, habits, patterns keeping us from stepping into the place we want to be.

How do we let go of the tight grip of the familiar?

We must face the edge.

Be brave.

Step out of our comfort zone.

Dare to fail.

Dare to fall on your face.

Look foolish.

Make a mistake.

(I dare you.)

You see the fear and proceed in spite of it.

You try something new, something different, something maybe even out of character.

And then see what happens.

You ask yourself, what is the worst thing that could happen?

By asking that question we can face the deep-seated fear lurking in the back of our minds.

It’s not usually as bad as we think.

We can then anticipate our solution to our worst case scenario.

But most importantly…..

Here it comes…

We allow ourselves to play.

We allow ourselves to be kids again and play in the sandbox. We explore the possibilities. We don’t prejudge. We don’t anticipate the outcome.

The old beliefs and ideas about ourselves and our abilities suddenly become irrelevant. There is no space for them in the land of make believe.

We then watch the beliefs crumble, one by one as we prove to ourselves what’s really possible.
What our TRUE nature is. Who we really are.

Our authentic selves.

In helping this professor overcome his self limiting beliefs, I asked myself the same question. What beliefs am I holding onto about myself? What stories am I telling?

What stories are you clinging to?

This week, try doing something out of the ordinary. Shake things up. Take the class. Tell the joke. Cook the new recipe. Challenge your inner critic on what’s possible for you.

Let me know, I’d love to hear about it!

In the meantime, I’ll be looking for more glittering leaves. :)