FINDING THE COURAGE TO STEP UP

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Vanessa Jane Smith, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

Many of us seem to be experiencing personal challenges just now, and whatever it is that we are experiencing seems to be calling us to find the courage to step up in some way, whether that be in our personal lives and the experiences we are living, in our working worlds, and certainly in the way we are being called to be the leaders of our lives.

What are you personally experiencing just now and what is it that seems to want to shift in you so you can see it more clearly and really gain and evolve from the experience for your own betterment and the betterment of others?

Does it boil down to a belief, a perspective or a habit? Perhaps it’s just that whatever it is, you know that things would be better off without it.

But perhaps in that knowledge you sense a battle going on on the inside of you. One part of you somehow just knows that this thing is here to teach you something so you can finally expand and grow, yet there is a sluggish thing in you, that, when all is said and done, deeply fears the change this represents.

So familiar right? But wherever it comes from, is, at the end of the day, irrelevant. What matters is what you choose to do about it, and, more importantly, how you choose to work and partner with it right now instead of reacting against it.

It may seem easier in the short term to give all this power over to the fear of change, but by going into that knee-jerk reaction we know that more fear always results and nothing really shifts for the better.

What if, in the moment of feeling that fear which is produced when we are finding the courage to step up, we made a simple, clear choice, to step back and let what really wants to happen in a greater sense lead the way? What if, for once, we could choose to partner with love rather than with the power that the fear has over us?

In these moments when you know something is wanting to shift because you are not feeling great, try this:
• Stop and Breathe and focus on all the things in your life you feel deep gratitude for. Then focus on the unconditional love you have for someone or that someone or something has for you. Really get yourself into a positive state of BEing
• Now bring your mind to any knee-jerk reaction you feel tempted to take with regard to your issue
• Ask “It” to tell you what it wants from you. Just ask IT
• Get as much information from IT as you can. Be curious and on the lookout for anything you hadn’t seen before
• Having gained information about what change or fear has to say, see if you can discover what really simple yet powerful question exists around this subject which will lead you into clarity, peace and then expansion and the breakthrough you are looking for

The simplest questions (often asked by children) go most directly to the core of the issue, and within that simple, yet powerful question, the answer can always be found.

Also, as far as persistence is concerned, someone said something light and simple the other day which has stuck in my mind – “Fake it till you make it!”