Fear is No Longer a Factor
Well, a couple life altering things have happened since my last blog. No… I have not fallen in love and I don’t have any juicy dating experiences to share – I’m finding that there is actually more to life for a woman than male companionship… who knew!!?! All joking aside, there were a couple of serious commitments that I’ve made to myself #1 I made a decision to increase my attention towards my coaching practice and #2 become more focused on my spiritual life.
As you may have picked up from my previous post, I’ve struggled in the area of commitment. I have had a history of ending relationships prematurely, I have had an issue with the idea of being tied down in a mortgage and I never particularly liked to live in the same city over 3 years at a time. Somehow commitment to me felt limiting, stagnant and monotonous. However, in my self-development journey I have seen the benefits of commitment – particularly in making commitments to myself which is required if one wants to experience significant change in life.
The first commitment I made to myself was to aggressively pursue a dream I’ve had for years to become a coach. I help people break free of mental blocks or fears that may have kept them from moving forward in certain areas of their lives. Like most people, I have experienced the same types of fears and am happy to say that through applying appropriate tools and adopting positive thought patterns, I have overcome many them.
One of my most gripping fears was calling myself a coach. Even after countless encounters with friends, family, acquaintances and even strangers that have ended with them thanking me for what to them felt like a valuable coaching session, I was still crippled by fear. Fear of being judged for my past (which is not perfect), fear of being expected to know it all (which is impossible), and fear of failing (which is 100% relative).
Shortly after my last blog, I spent time planning my next steps in life which included deciding to re-prioritize my free time from social activities (casually dating, hanging out) to re-focusing that energy to actually build something. Would I go back to school to get my degree, build my coaching practice or focus on dating (seriously this time). After receiving a clear sign on which to choose, I accepted my calling and decided to focus on building my practice. Since then in three short months, I have enrolled in an internationally recognized coaching program, have lead three workshops and acquired several new clients. The power of a focused mind is amazing!
In addition to those things, less than 2 weeks after committing myself to this direction, I was blessed with an opportunity that would extricated me from a toxic work environment that left me feeling trapped and confused about my future each day. This change was exactly the type of freedom needed in order to effectively pursue my dream. This was yet another serendipitous job opportunity that came directly to me without an application. Six weeks and 4 interviews later, I had a new job that meet all of my requirements. If that isn’t God’s doing – I don’t know what is.
The second and most important decision I made was to submit to God’s plan and not to waste time orchestrating my own. He expects us to act and push forward after we have received His direction. In His plan, there is support, there is provision and there is a fulfilling purpose. I have experienced it so profoundly that I have no reason to doubt or fear – unless I insist on my own way. In my last post I explored the balance between life’s pleasant surprises (God’s direction) and the expectation to be astute planners as responsible adults. I think that I’m discovering that balance.
I am very thankful for the clarity I’ve been given and am super excited to share some of my experiences with you as I move forward into this new chapter of life where fear is no longer a factor.