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As I began to reach outside of my comfort zone, with my podcast and now my hypnosis, relaxation and meditation downloads, ughhhhh I am again reminded of how comfortable I can get in my life. lol. I learned this early on in coaching training, when we were assigned to come up with and create a stretch that was outside of our comfort zone. The purpose was for us to feel what it is like for the client who was wanting a stretch in their lives. And that we could authentically feel and empathize their experience. My stretch in training was to do standup comedy. One of the most terrifying things I could imagine, being laughed at. And was one of the most rewarding things I absolutely accomplished.
The purpose of a stretch is to reach outside of our comfort zone. And it doesn't take very long, sometimes just the thought of crossing that line, potentially can create anxiety and all the other limiting beliefs that keep us stuck and not growing.
I am inspired by Abraham Lincoln who was passionate and understood his purpose. And that "there is no such thing as failure, only feedback". Having a clear purpose drives us to the goal and motivates us to get up and keep going. Here is Lincoln's path to the White House:
1816 His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
1818 His mother died.
1831 Failed in business.
1832 Ran for state legislature - lost.
l832 Also lost his job - wanted to go to law school but couldn't get in.
1833 Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
1834 Ran for state legislature again - won.
1835 Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
1836 Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
1838 Sought to become speaker of the state legislature - defeated.
1840 Sought to become elector - defeated.
1843 Ran for Congress - lost.
1846 Ran for Congress again - this time he won - went to Washington and did a good job.
1848 Ran for re-election to Congress - lost.
1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state - rejected.
1854 Ran for Senate of the United States - lost.
1856 Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party's national convention - get less than 100 votes.
1858 Ran for U.S. Senate again - again he lost.
1860 Elected president of the United States.
When we go after something, we will absolutely run into OBSTACLES. That is worth saying twice!
WHEN WE GO AFTER SOMETHING, WE WILL ABSOLUTELY RUN INTO OBSTACLES. And there is the critical moment. Do you stop there? Do you look at the obstacle as feedback to try another way? Do you get back up on your feet and keep moving forward? YES!!!
I just accept this fact that there will be obstacles, but there definitely was a time when I could not believe how dependable this statement is. Literally saying "you have got to be kidding me!" It's pretty much guaranteed. So count on it. So accept it. Brian Tracy in his book Flight Plan: The Real Secret of Success; How to Achieve More Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible, illustrates this with a metaphor about airplanes and their flight plan.
From Brian Tracy's book "One day I learned a remarkable fact: when you fly in any airplane headed for any destination, you will be off course 99 percent of the time! Because of unavoidable conditions such as updrafts, downdrafts, crosswinds, turbulence, storms, lightning, and the earth’s magnetism, the plane will be off course throughout the journey. However, when the plane takes off from Los Angeles bound for New York, the pilot will come on the loudspeaker and say something like, “Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for flying our airline. Our flight today will take approximately five hours and twelve minutes, and we will touch down at LaGuardia Airport at twenty minutes to six in the afternoon. Have a nice flight.” And sure enough, five hours and twelve minutes later, the plane lands at LaGuardia, right on the minute, just as predicted. The point is this: In life, you will be off course most of the time. No matter how carefully you plan and organize in advance, your life will be a series of two steps forward and one step back. From the time you start on your journey of life toward your destination, you will have to make continual course corrections. You will have to start, stop, go left or right, move under or over obstacles, and often retrace your steps. These are the essential experiences you require to become the kind of person you need to be to achieve any kind of lasting success." Check Out Brian Tracy's book Flight Plan
Thank goodness the pilot persists and you will too! ( : Because of a purpose we start the journey toward a goal. Life shows up with obstacles. There is no failure only feedback. The feedback is expected and necessary for us to learn a valuable lesson, it is a gift and part of the path on our journey. We reflect on the obstacle and take any learnings that we want to keep that are of significant value. Then we step aside of the obstacle, adjust our path and find another way. Our purpose is bigger than how we feel in the moment. Our purpose is in alignment with our values. We persist and take action knowing that our purpose is driving us and delivers us to our goal.
