When things aren’t going as well as we’d like or according to plan, what is generally our first inclination? To find blame. It was my upbringing. If only I had gotten that job/contract/relationship. My spouse is holding me back. I’ve got to take care of my kids. No one understands me. If only someone would give me a break. I don’t know what to do next – no one will give me the right advice.
I have bad news for us all: We are our own worst enemies.
You are as amazing as you let yourself be. Let me repeat that. You are as amazing as you let yourself be. ~Elizabeth Alraune
The only person or circumstance that can stop you, is you. Let me rephrase that – the only one who can stop me is me. I’ve stopped myself many times in my life. Sometimes many times in one day!
On Canada’s Got Talent this weekend, I watched contestant Roger LeBlanc perform the St.Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V. I recalled doing this speech at an event. I was told by the audience that they would follow me anywhere because of the passion I evoked. At another event I did Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech and was told how inspiring I was and how, with that passion and commitment, I could do anything and take others with me on the journey.
As I thought back to those moments, I thought back over the last few years since I started The Bad Kitty. I thought of all the times I’ve sat thinking about what I should be doing, what I could be doing and what I wasn’t doing. I thought about the lunch I had recently where my companion told me that, from the outside, I have all the right pieces in place and how my brain said back, then why aren’t things going like I want?
The fact is, sometimes, even with all the teaching I do on being you in a big way, I still sometimes hold myself back. What I could do is exciting and scarey at the same time. If I could really inspire like Henry or Martin, what kind of responsibility would that carry? That is one scary thought.
So, in this moment and every other moment, I am as amazing as I let myself be. Just like you.
Do you want to be as amazing as you want to and are meant to be?
- Where do you hold back in your speech? When do you not speak up for fear of being ridiculed or rejected?
- Where do you hold back in your actions? When do you play small when you want to play big?
- When do you pretend things are OK when they aren’t?
- When do you settle for less than you want and know you deserve?
- How often do you tell yourself, things are going to change, I’m going to do something new/different that will move me forward and then you don’t?
These behaviors stop us all from being as amazing as we can be because we are only let ourselves go a certain distance and then stop.
I say STOP IT! I’m saying it to me as much as I am to anyone reading this. The time is NOW! There is no time like the present to turn off whatever is distracting you and get moving.
It may be your brain telling you you can’t, shouldn’t or is filling you with fear. Turn it off with “Thank you for sharing, I’m up to something else.”
It may be a habit like watching too much TV, checking your emails 30 times a day or sleeping in until noon. Change the habit one day at a time, making decisions in every moment that this is not serving you and to do something else.
It may a person. If they are negative and bringing you down, either get away from them or limit your contact with them. If it’s a family member you can’t get away from, be very clear about what you’re up to and ask them to either support you or shut up.
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy (or kitty) who’ll decide where to go. ~Dr. Seuss
I’m up for a little change and to be as amazing as I let myself be – and to let myself be even more amazing. How about you?
Hugs, Christie