Who am I to think I can do this?

That’s the thought that thrummed through my brain as I took the call.

I was on the phone with a coach I wanted to hire, and let’s be real: I was totally anxious about it.

Sure, I’d scoured her website and watched tons of her videos. I believed that she could help me to get to my dream of building my readership and a new business too.

But I was about to take action on this “crazy” idea, and it brought up ALL my stuff.

My brain chattered away …

Lots of other people are farther ahead on this!
If I was actually good at this, I would already be doing it!

There was sweat under my arms and a tremor in my hands, but I didn’t hang up. Instead, I asked questions and allowed the coach to walk me through the anxiety.

When I decided to say yes, there was elation, but I was still scared.

Scared to have that conversation with my loving, skeptical husband: You want to do what?! For how much?!

Scared to invest in myself, to spend that money I’d worked hard to earn.

Scared to Go Forward, Scared to Turn Back

Do you know that feeling? Do you know what it’s like to be caught between two possible paths?

Sure, you can keep going as you have been. That feels a lot safer. Or, you can take a different road. You can go somewhere new.

The new road is much steeper. There are more obstacles on the way. But something about it calls out to you.

It will be a challenge, but it feels like YOUR challenge. It feels like that road belongs to you, somehow.

If you’re at that crossroads now, here’s what I want to share with you.

There’s a wonderful line from the poet Rilke that my close friend Brooke and I have been quoting to one another for more than a decade …

“Go to the limits of your longing.”

What I take it to mean is: Go past your old patterns. Do not stop where it’s comfortable.

There will always be a part of your brain telling you that it’s easier to stay on the couch and stick to the status quo. And that’s true, it IS easier.

But is it richer, fuller, deeper? No.

Trust the tears in your eyes and the rush in your heart when you think about that dream.

Go to the Limits of Your Longing

(My husband took this photo as we climbed through wind and rain in Ireland – this moment, this view, made it all worthwhile.)

Today, I am so grateful that that coach walked me through my fear, and that I said yes even though I was scared.

I achieved strong results with that coach … so much so that she actually hired me to coach on her team.

Yet what I’m most proud of now is the person I became along the way … the woman who makes her own decisions, rather than letting fear make them for her.

Will you be that person in 2019? Does your path involve doing more creative work you love?

Then honey, you and I need to talk.

If what I’ve written here resonates with you, your next step is to book a free Clarity Call with me. I’m only offering these calls until next Friday the 21st, and the remaining spots are going fast.

Clarity Calls are focused, 30 minute calls wherein we hone in on your vision for your life, and what’s holding you back. We talk through the dream as well as the obstacles.

At the end of the call – if and only if it feels right to both of us! – I can share information about my coaching program, Progress On Purpose.

Will you go to the limits of your longing? It’s entirely up to you.

But know that if you do, I will stand with you and help you get to where you want to go.

Give me your hand. We’ll walk the road together.

***

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