Life Coaching Tip: If you want to transform your life and pursue your dreams, then you must do things differently. Doing things differently can bring up all kinds of fear which can create an uneasiness in your body and your mind. To move forward, however, you’ll need to override the unnerving feelings of change. It will likely feel uncomfortable at first—but it will be worth it, my friend. I promise!
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“Do you want to switch to the other side?”
That’s what my husband, Jerry, asked me a while back on a morning walk. I then asked him why in the world he would ask me that.
“I’ve noticed that you like to be on the left of me when we’re walking together, so I thought you might be more comfortable if we switched,” he said.
“What? No, I don’t,” my rebel-self told him. I had no idea what he was talking about. I mean, I’m not that weird.
However, after just a few more moments of walking on the right side, I realized just how uncomfortable I was with this placement. Something felt off.
Right did not feel “right” to me at all.
Yes, it turns out, I am that weird.
The thing that amazed me was that I never consciously realized that I had this silly bias—yet subconsciously my brain was telling me that something was “wrong” every time I walked on the other side.
I found this interesting because clearly it shouldn’t matter in the least what side I walked on—neither was safer, there was no “right” or “wrong” here—but my brain was giving me a different message:
Stick to your habit. Don’t shake things up. Do not change!
I could feel the unease in my body.
I was uncomfortable enough to admit to my husband that he was correct. And then we did the old switcheroo—I changed to the other side.
I’m sharing this with you because I want to point out just how stealthy the primal brain can be when we start to do things differently—it allows fearful thoughts to sneak into our mind and trigger unease. However, if we want to level up and grow, then we MUST do things differently, despite the uneasy feelings.
I see this with my clients when they are in the process of making a life change.
It feels unnerving and they can feel the anxiety in their body. They then interpret this as a sign that something is wrong.
They may have thoughts like:
- What if I am making the wrong decision?
- What if I lose it all and fail?
- What if people think I am selfish and irresponsible for chasing my dream?
- What if I still don’t feel happy after disrupting my life this way?
- What if I regret it all later?
Does any of this sound familiar? If so, let me remind you of some truths:
- That dream is in your heart for a reason.
- You are already fully equipped with everything you need to succeed.
- You are capable of accomplishing anything you set your mind to.
- The danger is not real.
- There’s nothing serious going on here.
If you are ready to finally make some meaningful changes in your life, then you must be willing to override the uneasy feelings that come with transformation. You must create space for yourself to recognize the fearful thoughts that are limiting you and intentionally remind yourself of the facts.
Those thoughts are as sneaky as the ones that created discomfort in me when I didn’t honor my preference for walking on the left side of the path.
For the most part, change is uncomfortable, but you can handle it.
Resist going backwards and doing the old switcheroo!
Nothing has gone wrong. Keep moving forward, my friend!
PS: Life coaching can provide you with the extra support and encouragement you need to feel your fear and go for your dream anyways! Check out my private coaching page and let’s schedule a time to talk.
Mind Drama: The Struggle Is Not Real!