Courage...

I was speaking with my coach this week about courage. Courage in business, courage in relationships and courage in life in general. She asked me "how do you define courage?" 

I answered quickly "It's taking the action you know to be true, from your soul level, even in the face of fear." I was surprised how easily the definition came. But I knew it was true. I know that any time I've taken a courageous action; it was fueled by divine inspiration. I just KNEW it was the right thing to do. I knew it from such a deep level, there was no question. That didn't mean I always followed through, though.

Often I realized the action I was considering would "rock the boat" in the situation I was thinking about. So sometimes I'd chicken out...I wouldn't do what I knew to be true. And I always suffered for it in some way. 

Sometimes however, even in the face of what I thought might be dangerous consequences for me personally, I followed my heart and took the inspired action. It didn't always work out immediately the way I anticipated. Often the results were far more beneficial than I could ever have imagined. And sometimes it took years to see the truth of the situation I had faced and why I was called to a specific action. One thing has always been clear.

Whenever I follow my heart, my true inner divine knowing, and take the inspired action I feel called to carry out, I feel congruent with Spirit. I feel at peace. Instead of feeling stuck or like a victim, I am in motion and am in the flow of the solution. 

Yep, I've had to learn the hard way, but I learned. Being courageous enough to take inspired action always leads me to relief, deep peace and joy. 

Having courage in life has helped me enjoy less panic and more peace. And that’s one of my goals for this year. I suggest you try it as well.   #LessPanicMorePeace

Got Me Again….

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My husband loves to point out situations where my words don’t match my actions. He finds this highly entertaining and endlessly amusing. I do not.

While this doesn’t happen often, I appreciate his insight. Eventually at least. I fully intend to “walk my talk” and I’m disturbed when I find I’ve missed the mark in some area.

And that’s what happened. I missed the mark. I didn’t follow my own advice and trust that everything was happening for my highest and best. I didn’t take an action that I’d committed to.

I put something off, procrastinated, masterfully avoided and side stepped an issue. And I did it for months. I know better. This is exactly what my clients pay me to stop them from doing.

What was the potential foe I was so afraid of?

Upgrading a stupid computer program.

Yeah, I know it’s crazy. My husband had upgraded and was delighted but one friend had experienced a big issue that lost her several days of work. I was scared.

And I put it off. Again and again.

I signed up for the free upgrade as my husband suggested, but I ignored prompt for the upgrade the multitude of times it was offered.

I got little pop-up screens saying “We’ve got your upgrade ready! Start now…” but I didn’t. Finally, after months of prompting, I got a notice stating “Upgrade will begin Wednesday at 11pm.”

Hmmm….guess even my computer gets tired of being put off. Although I was beyond hesitant, I followed the directions and allowed the upgrade to take place. The result?

Glorious! I freakin’ love this program!

What the heck was my problem?

Oh yeah….I remember.

Instead of “trusting that everything is happening for my highest and best” as I so loudly preach to others, I had allowed myself to get caught in the drama of “what ifs?”

“What if I lose everything on my computer?”

“What if the new program creates issues and I lose productive office time?”

“What if I don’t like the new changes?”

So this was the real kicker. I’ve spent the last six months telling friends, family and my clients that CHANGE IS GOOD.

I explained that the intelligent divine energy that created our universe is constantly seeking to expand, grow and create anew. Change is part of the plan. And, in retrospect, most of the time we can ultimately appreciate the change. We just have to get past our fear of the unknown. The unknown and the “what ifs.”

Maybe I need to remind myself of a couple other “what ifs.”

“What if this change is fantastic?”

“What if I love the result?”

OK, Universe...message received. I’ll go wipe the egg off my face now.

At least my husband is amused.