I'm Trying Something New

I've decided to enter a local writing contest. It's something that I never would have done in the past, but I was pulled toward entering it. So I thought, okay there must be something here for me. Let's just follow the breadcrumb trail and see where I end up.

So I went looking to see what the winners are writing and what format their writing is taking. It's non-fiction but they are writing it as though it's a story. It's written in a fiction format even though it's not fiction.

Okay, that's a new way to do things. Let's see what happens if I try to write about some aspect of my own life in that way.

Here's the reason I'm telling you this.

In the past when I would make a choice like this, the argument with it would cause me to walk away from it or in some cases, not even get started at all. The fear of that choice and the potential struggle that came with it was enough to stop me.  

You'll recognize that story because I've done it with multiple programs and offers in my business over the years. It's a very familiar place to hang out.

I don't do that anymore though. I have programs open that have been so for a while. I no longer run away, which means when I make choices I follow through, just like I will with this contest. But what changed? How did I get to there?

A couple of things:

1. When I get the guidance or intuitive nudge to do a thing, I automatically see the value in what's offered. It's inherent. It's built in and I don't have to question the outcome at all. I don't wonder what I'll get from it, I just go see. Because I don't question that, my motivation to go see what's being offered is very strong. It outweighs the fear or struggle that I may run into while doing the thing.

I've learned after doing this for a long time now, that there is always a benefit in chasing down the thing that the Universe offers to me. There is always a benefit, whether I can see it or not!

It's not about winning the contest, there are other things there. My job is to go find them. But if I'm not open to that exploration, then I just walk away. I don't even try. That became a cycle for me and one I needed to stop, so I did. This is the result of stopping that loop.

2. I don't need to know the next thing. I don't care because it doesn't matter. I'm getting benefit by simply moving forward. I'm proving to myself that I can do it. I'm proving to myself that I don't have to be afraid. I'm proving to myself that I can handle what happens next. I'm proving to my guides or my intuition that I'm willing to play along. The more open I am to all these things, the more information I get. The better off I am. The bigger the reward on the other side.

When you block your own choices because you don't immediately see the benefit, it reiterates a story that you tell yourself about who you are and who you're not.

What choice are you blocking right now? Why?

Can you find a way to open yourself up to the possibility that you might get something positive out of it that you don't expect? Can you find some motivation in the idea that the Universe is trying to show you something through your experience? Can you accept that this is what your life experiences are for? This is their purpose; to show you things about yourself that you won't realize otherwise.

Why is it always a fear of failure or rejection that stops you?

I'm probably not going to win this contest. I'm not doing it for that. I'm not entering this because I have chance to win anything. I'm entering it to see what my intuition was trying to show me. I'm not in control of the outcome. I'm not afraid of failure because there is nothing to fail. I'm only in control of what I do along the way and I'm okay with that.

I'm not bothered by the struggle either. I can handle struggle. I have the power I need. I can figure it out. It's fine. The idea that the struggle is too much or not worth it, isn't true either. That's a limited perception based on the lack of a known outcome or an idea of what I might get from the experience.

I'll let you in on a secret: Every time I've gone down a path that was offered to me by the Universe, I have always found enough value in what I learned or gained to make the struggle worthwhile. Not once have I ever decided that the struggle wasn't worth the learning I received. Not once.

The struggle is mostly a perception. The idea that I have to struggle to write something worth putting in a contest isn't really true. That's my perception because I've never written that way before. But maybe it'll inspire me to write something else for you in that same format. Maybe it'll be an idea for a non-fiction type book written in a similar format. Maybe it'll become the next big thing for me. Maybe it's what I'm writing about that will be important. Maybe I'll get a new insight from that. Maybe all that will happen. Maybe something else will come from it. This blog has already come from it.

What if I told you that this blog on its own is enough to make the struggle that I perceive worthwhile? The value is built in. The blog is enough. Even if that were the only thing I got, I would be okay with that. The inspiration is valuable in itself. Can you see that in your own life? Can you find that in your own experiences?

The lack of motivation to change it comes from a feeling that you won't get anything better out of it. It comes from an idea that says you're better off where you are or that the new thing is too risky. You don't see the outcome so it doesn't allow you to weigh the pros and cons of your choices the way you've been taught to. The unknowns feel too risky and you put them in the cons column automatically. Perceived risk is dangerous right?

If you want to move and you have your choice between two different places to live, what do you do? You list the benefits of each. You decide what your priorities are. You make informed choices that way. I hate to break it to you but the Universe doesn't work like that. You have to find inherent value in the journey and leave the outcome alone.  What's the benefit of just writing your pros and cons lists? There is inherent value in that even if you never move. Can you see that?

The unknowns aren't cons, they are just unknowns. You judged them as being bad, but that's not necessarily true. The only way you'll know that is to try and see what happens. But you won't even try. You don't even let yourself get started. You bought into what your brain told you and you went with it. It made you walk away from the choice.

The unknowns are a scavenger hunt without a list. You just go looking and you know that nothing awful is going to jump out at you. How do you know that nothing awful is going to jump out at you? Because you trust the journey and yourself. If you don't trust the journey yet it's because your focus is off.

You see the things you don't like as a reasons not to. Those things you don't like are actually reasons to do it. The things you don't like are going to give you the most value. They are going to pop you out of your comfort zone. They are going to help build you up to become more of you already are.

The things you like are comfortable. That's the easy stuff. Your big dreams, even the ones you aren't consciously aware of yet, require you to be somebody that is not in your current comfort zone. You have to be willing to venture into the unknown to see what's out there for you. There is something there. There is a reason for all of it. Do you believe that yet?

I'm going to be sharing my experience of writing for this contest with you. I can't share what I'm writing because the work needs to remain unpublished. But I will say that it is outside of my comfort zone. It is not what I normally do and it's providing some interesting insights that I'm going to keep sharing with you as they show up.

This is the journey. I go on it because I see the inherent yet unknown value in it. Are you willing to do the same thing for yourself?

Love to all.

Della