I spent the three first days of last week attending the (online) Mindset Retreat hosted by my coach and oh my, what a journey of transformation it was!
I haven’t attended any events for quite a while (even before covid times) and just loved to fully dive in and do the work within. What was different from any other event I’ve attended before (and I’ve been to many), was the community and the atmosphere.
There are no words to describe what it feels like to be at home with complete strangers and to be able to feel safe when being fully open and vulnerable. It was insanely awesome!
Three days of working on my mindset in such a loving and welcoming community was more than needed! And something I’ve never experienced before.
With the support of my coach and the community, I was able to discover such blind spots about myself that I don’t think would’ve been possible in any other place.
The most powerful realization was that my biggest fear is not the fear of visibility, which I’ve thought it to be, but that I’m too much and therefore not accepted.
As it dawned on me, I could clearly see how I’ve been holding myself back in so many areas of my life. How I’ve been making myself smaller than I am in so many areas of my life. This awareness allowed me to feel more free than I’ve felt, well, ever.
My top story for not living my life in a way that I’d really love to, has been that I can’t, because people won’t accept me if I do; they’ll think I’m asking for too much, that I’m too ambitious, that I’m too focused on my business, that I’m too sensitive, too bold, too brash…
It’s been a much safer way to keep myself small, not bothering anyone, not passing anyone’s radar, and certainly not making myself too visible.
It’s just that all my dreams that I have inside of me have had to stay on the back-burner. And keeping them there is living against my own beliefs.
I believe (yes, believe, no science behind this) that the dreams we have, are not put inside of our hearts for no reason. I believe (again, without any science to back this up) that each dream is there to be lived out and fulfilled. Each dream serves a higher purpose and a greater good.
As there are no extra humans, there are no extra dreams. I don’t believe that some people are here on this earth for no reason. I believe we all have a reason to be here and a purpose to be filled. And so does each dream.
No matter how big, bright or bold they are. And no matter how small, dull or insignificant they are. On someone else’s opinion.
Cause these labels really are just someone else’s opinions that we may have unconsciously adapted along the way, and accidentally have come to think that they’re the truth. And, as a consequence, that we should change ourselves somehow to fit in. To be accepted.
As I’ve so many times told you, we all have blind spots when it comes to our own way of going about. I had several on this matter. Firstly, definitely noticing the fear of not being accepted. Secondly, and more importantly, the story I’ve told myself about it in the past. Then, most importantly, not being able to change the story around (as it was a blind spot).
Fortunately I had a chance to flip that story around during the three days of the mindset retreat, led by my coach.
As I used to tell myself in the past, that people won’t accept me the way I am, I have now flipped the story around and am telling myself that I accept myself the way I am.
I also have a list of names of whom are the dearest ones in my life, my inner circle, that I keep with me, so that I know they, too, accept me the way I am. And that’s all that matters.
Another example of flipping a story. In the past, I used to tell myself another story of how long it’s going to take before I’m going to be able to serve my purpose fully, if ever. This story, I flipped around by now affirming myself with a question of how can I prepare myself for serving my purpose at an even greater scale?
These tweaks in the stories have opened a completely new view of the future, and changed how I see the past.
Where in your life are you telling yourself stories of “I’d love to, but I can’t because…”? What have you been sacrificing by that story?
After you’ve identified your top story, take a minute to flip and transform that story by tweaking the angle from which you approach the matter, just like I did earlier.
However, no realization leads to anything, no matter how life changing it is, if it is not backed up by action. For this part, I don’t yet have anything else to say than: watch me do it.
Has the fear been erased? No.
I’m just taking action despite of it.
I am no longer settling for ok. I’m playing the biggest game possible. And I’m inviting you to play it with me – let’s do this together!
Let’s serve the greater good of all in the highest way possible and impact the world!
Much love,
Paula
xx