Don't Give Up - Go Within

I wonder how many people feel a calling to a life purpose and give up before they make it. When I see this happens, it truly breaks my heart, and I've seen it lead to depression and take people's spark away.
 
Unfortunately, living in fear is a modern norm. Yet, fear is not the truth of what is possible. 
 
In this article, we explore how to follow a calling by using fear as a catalyst in your journey!
 
It happened again... a client stated, "I don't think I'm good enough for what I'm called to do. I haven't had any success yet." When I hear this, I have loads of compassion. This used to be me. 
 
In rock climbing, I observed a pattern. Every climb, no matter how easy or hard, I stop, look down, and panic. You see, I have a passion for climbing and a fear of heights. Thanks God! 
 
All jokes aside, it is a real experience. I've now come to call this "normal climbing jitters" or NCJ. So when it happens, I remind myself that it doesn't mean I can't climb this climb. This is just my typical freak-out moment. This self-awareness allows my brain the space to calm down and click back in.
 
I've also noticed that when people feel called to start a business or take on a big new endeavor, "normal calling jitters" also happen. I just watched the documentary called Iron Cowboy. This is a film about James Lawrence. James challenged himself to do 50 Iron Man marathons in 50 Days, over 50 States. What?! Yep. The documentary exemplifies his struggle with NCJ (normal calling jitters) and how he overcame them.
 
Another classic NCJ story is captured in the documentary Free Solo where Alex Honnold climbs El Capitan without any climbing gear and lived to share his story. This is another prime example of people playing big and learning to discern the difference between intuition and fear while pushing through to success. 
 
So why do we sometimes tell ourselves the story that we can't, or we aren't cut out for what we feel so deeply called to do?
 
A simple truth. Fear feels real. Stress hormones pulse through our veins, our thoughts race, and doubts creep in. We experience fear as real. This is when many people fail just by giving up. 
 
The good news is that we don't have to give up when we learn to go within. 
 
Within each one of us exists possibilities. New adventures in life require us to activate new possibilities within ourselves. 
 
So instead of assuming, "I'm not cut out for this because I haven't reached success yet, " you can: 

1. Write down all of your successes so that you can step out of all-or-nothing thinking.
2. Next, journal about why you love what is calling you. There is a reason you feel called.
3. Decide to adopt a realistic attitude. No success comes without challenges. Expect challenge. When it shows up, you can remind yourself, "Oh, this is just normal calling jitters!"  

The above approach is a way to reroot and pivot when the NCJ pops up.
 
I have also come across a spiritual and energetic formula you can apply. The formula is this: I can 100% envision myself doing this calling + my calling feels ordinary = success is around the corner. 
 
Let's dive into how this shows up. On a scale from 1-10 (10 being 100% "yes, of course" and one equals "not at all"), how easily does the vision of your calling come to you without fear? In other words, how close are you to "Oh yes, of course, I'll reach this goal. No problem, no sweat".
 
When considering your answer avoid judging yourself. Just note the answer as a data point. When I started as a new coach, I wanted to be a success so badly, but it seemed WAY too good to be true, so I was at a 2-3. The truth of what we are experiencing internally does not define the truth of what is possible for us.
 
If, on your scale, you fall below an 8, then your work is to close the gap. The closer you get to a ten, the more effortless success naturally comes. Why? Because a ten represents fully aligned energy. Fear fragments us from activating the possibilities within ourselves. Those possibilities are the leverage points for your success. 
 
Five steps to closing the gaps:
 

1. Sit with what is calling. Write out what you love about it.
2. Envision you are (or write it out) actively living in your calling and 100% successful. Putting all doubts aside, what does it look like? How does it play out if nothing is getting in the way?
3. Give yourself compassion, "Of course, I'm at a 3. This means a lot to me." "Of course, I'm feeling fear. This is new to me." Compassion is a great neutralizer. Bring your energy out of fear.
4. Flip the script: Write down how it would feel to live in your vision and have it be normal. 
5. Bring the vision to life. Each morning before you start your work day, take 5 minutes to envision living in your calling and feeling those exact feelings of success and "this is normal." (If you aren't visual, you can write it out or record yourself on audio and listen to it). This activity helps your brain calm down and begin to expect new success instead of fearing it.  

 
You can do this for 12 weeks, then keep it up, or shift into once or twice a week until you feel greater ease around your calling.
 
Please also remember to give yourself grace. Nothing great is created overnight. Your calling is no exception. Give yourself five years. Yes, five years of space to grow roots that bare new fruits. If your calling is strong, then five years will be a drop in the bucket in the big scheme of things.

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