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At 3:12 last Thursday morning, I woke up in a sweaty panic attack. Really. I saw myself running out of money, living on the streets, and desperately trying to find a home for my two senior dogs, Max and Tasha. While the reality is very different - I DO have everything I need and more to succeed, I still had the attack. My stomach in a vice, my mind racing, I wondered “How can I coach others to leap fully into their passions, if I still get so afraid at times?”
What was my fear about? It is longstanding: the fear of the unknown, the fear of change, and the fear of staking a claim in a happiness zone, instead of a comfort zone. Good ole comfort zones, yuck! Up until 2008′s exodus from Corporate America, I lived a veneered life of sincere inauthenticity. You know, that resigned, nauseating complacency where you pretend to be “just fine,” “OK,” “good,” or “not so bad,” with your life, and that’s just about it. Sure, I had passionate moments of explosive bliss here and there, but somehow I had lulled myself into believing that I was expressing infinite possibilities. Not! For years I convinced myself, and tried to sway others, that my mediocre joy was “enough.” Not even close! For me, true happiness finally emerged when I shattered the veneer, clarifed my passions, and told the truth about my lack of commitment to expressing them. Can you relate?
After decades of self-deceit, I am now plugging into the maximum kilowatts of possibilities and committed to unleashing them in myself and others. Let ‘em rip! When I’m playing full out in joy, delight, love, and connection, miracles crawl from the woodwork (think cockroaches: “for each one that you see, there are hundreds more”). Last week I interviewed Dr. Joon Yun on our Blog Talk radio show, The Passions and Possibilities Project, who reminds us that the golden key is to “fall madly in love with the world.” That is, to discover what you adore, where you lose yourself completely, where time stands still, and you forget everything else. Barbara DeAngelis calls them “real moments”. When was the last time that you created a real moment for yourself? For someone else? What did you embrace or release to allow it to unfold? After all, real moments are available to everyone, anytime and anywhere. Dr. Yun shares a thought-provoking approach to creating real moments on a daily basis: he leaves his schedule empty at the start of each day so that he’s available to follow inspirations as they arise. Wow! For me, an appointment-free Google calendar is a vast, uncharted, terrifying terrain. Yet, the idea deeply compels: Perhaps in focusing my time on unleashing infinite possibilities, I wouldn’t worry so much about getting my “to do” list done. Panic attacks be gone! Now, that is true power.
Passion Challenge #1: Create at least one hour of unscheduled time today where you can do or be whatever inspires you. Share with us what you discover!
Happy Pasioneering, Sue Zeal[/private][/private]
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