Thursday, October 24, 2013
Have you ever known something deep in your gut but still not acted on it? You know…the feeling of knowing something is no longer right for you, or that feeling that something seems really off but you choose to ignore it or push it aside? Until it gets too big to ignore?
I’ve had this experience several times in my life and I’d like to think I learn from my past experiences but sometimes I still ignore my internal nudges. Sometimes I still ignore the external signs too. And, as they always have in the past, when I ignore them, they keep getting bigger until I do something about them. They grow annoyingly large until I decide that I’ve had enough of big bricks that keep hitting me over the head and I decide it’s time to move in a different direction.
The funny thing is, most of my hesitation to act on these signs is because I’m uncertain of what the future may hold if I do something to act on my internal knowledge. The unknown of choosing a different path that will move me away from what I know is wrong for me can be a scary place. I would rather spend time living with the discomfort of being hit in the head with large bricks then take a step in a new direction. For those who know my story and have read my most recent book, Letting Go Of The Status Quo, you know that eventually I will make a move and take the step in a different direction but it doesn’t always happen easily or quickly – it sometimes takes me a while.
For example it took almost two years of obvious signs, both internal nudges and external occurrences, before I made a move to leave my corporate job and start my own business four years ago. I spent almost two years ignoring the many signs because I was afraid of what was on the other side of making the decision to leave. I wanted to know what would happen when I left to start my own business – where would my clients come from? How would everything transpire? What would owning my own business really be like? The fact is there was no way to know those answers until I actually left. Until I made the move that I’d known I needed to make for the prior two years, none of those answers would be revealed to me. We have to take the first step; we have to make the move before some of the answers to our biggest questions about “what’s next?” are revealed.
This topic is on my mind this week because I’ve recently had some more two-year old internal nudges and external experiences of things I know I want and need to change start to show up as some big uncomfortable bricks hitting me over the head. As when I left my corporate job four years ago, I have lots of questions about what is on the other side of the change I’m contemplating and yet, I know those answers won’t come to me until I make a move. I can hear my inner voice telling me, “It’s Your Move Andria” and I know that once I do move, my answers will be revealed.
What’s holding you back? Do you need to make a change in some area of your life? Don’t let the questions or fear of what’s next hold you back. The answers you seek will absolutely come to you but first -it’s your move.
