Having a Heart Tune Up

So as I have discovered this past year what living fearlessly and in your greatness is all about it has challenged me to look at life differently.  I have had to look at the things I found my identity in from a fresh perspective. 

One of the areas in my life that has pushed me to the limit lately is my job.  I have always looked at my job as who I am, what I contribute, my worth.  Even as I made the journey from my head to my heart and discovered my greatness and how to live fearlessly, I still held on to an "old piece" of me with the security of my job.  Well, recently my role at work changed and my mentor has moved on to a different department and I suddenly found myself floundering and being challenged how much of the greatness message do I really believe about myself.

As all the changes at work took place I admit I did not readily accept them.  In fact, I fought them (within myself) and used a phrase I hate "it's not fair." Over a period of three or more weeks I did nothing but negative self talk and put all my energy into what was being "done" to me versus looking at the opportunity to grow and apply all I have learned.  By the end of this time I was filled with anxiety, with hopelessness, with anger. In fact, I was about ready to give up, but then...

In the midst of this I decided I was "stuck"and felt I could not pull myself out of it so I met with a friend to talk it out.  As I sat in her office and listed out all the things that were wrong (negative) she added a word to the list I hate VICTIMIZATION.  As soon as she said this I cringed and even got a little angry.  Because of my background of being abused the word victim does not set well with me-she knows this!  But here she was telling me I was allowing myself to be victimized!  Everything in me wanted to shout, to fight back and say she was wrong.

I was looking for a "poor Laurie" you have the right to your feelings, yet I was being challenged to look at it another way.  I wanted to think I had relapsed, I really hadn't grown, (I wanted her to validate this) yet in reality I was allowing myself to be a victim.

As I let this set in, I realized she was right.  I had allowed old feelings, behaviors to take over and moved out of my heart.  As I made the move back into my heart the victim role I had placed myself in became crystal clear and I did not like what I saw.  I had made my job my life, thus when things went wrong I figured my life was wrong as well. But, my life is what I make it and my job is just my job! 

So was I going to live in my greatness or was I going to allow my circumstances have control?  I choose GREATNESS!  You see, there is no other way to live. As I allowed my heart to be challenged, to have a "tune up" I saw the truth that this was just another opportunity to live fearlessly!  As I went back to work and in the days that followed I shifted, and it was amazing how my perspective shifted as well.  With it came the peace, the confidence, the fearlessness I have learned to live in.  I approached everything differently and the negativity disappeared.

I was reminded that greatness is not a passing feeling, a moment in your life that will come and go, but is really at the very core of who you are.  We are going to have curve balls thrown at us in life, but how we choose to deal with them is totally up to us.

So, are you going to live in your heart and allow what you know to be true to take you through the challenging times or are you going to allow your negative thoughts to have control?  I allowed the negativity and in the process discovered the heart and my greatness is a much better place to be.

Reset...Just Do It

Lately there have been a lot of opportunities in my life that have tried to move me from my heart into my head.  Changes at work, a challenging relationship, my two teenage girls, long hours, etc.  All of these things if I would allow them to could take me down a familiar path on which I traveled for many years, one that led to despair, hopelessness, fear, anger, and such.  However, this past year I have been given a weapon of sorts in the form of a five letter word - RESET!

When I first head this word everything in me challenged it as I wanted to keep listening to the voice in my head that justified all my feelings, my behaviors.  My friend who would use this word when she saw me going down the wrong path at times would infuriate me!  After all, look what was being said, what was being done, how I was being treated. Yet she would persistently say RESET and eventually I would come around and start looking at things differently.  This little word has great power!  It is likened to the rudder on a ship that is very small but can cause an entire ship to change direction and get back on course.

I have come to realize that I have the control over what I give power to in my life.  Changes at work I can choose to look at as opportunites for something new.  That challenging relationship a chance to make peace within myself and move on.  Even when my two teenagers are going at it with each other or with me I can choose to participate or not.

This word RESET is powerful as it provides a way to see things differently.  Not to run or hide from life's challenges, but to embrace them and learn and grow and not let the WMD's (worry, misery, doubt) have any place in your life.  As I recently was told, worrying about the "why" when it is not evident can be exhausting.  Instead we can embrace the changes, the challenges and manifest a positive outcome, we can RESET!

So what is it in life that is challenging you?  What is causing you to engage the WMD's versus disengaging them?  Would you embrace what is going on, realize that it does not have power unless you give it power and RESET?

I assure you, once this word becomes part of your vocabulary, clarity will accomapny it and life will take on new meaning.