“You must think I sound crazy! I’ve rambled for an hour!”
Whenever someone says that to me at the end of a coaching call, my reply is: “Quite the contrary. That’s you trying to get clear about the direction you want to take your life. Getting clear sounds like uncertainty mixed with word vomit … at first. Overtime, as you workshop your thoughts, you’ll get clearer on how you want to direct your life.”
Developing a personal vision is a messy process. It’s like pulling up the cushions on your couch – who knows what you’ll find! It requires you to dig deep into your thought processes with the intention of finding self-authored ideas of how you want to direct your time, focus, and ambitions.
If it were easy, we’d all be living our best life. But we’re not.
So many of us are living the lives others want us to live. We’re also investing in the happiness and dreams of others, rather than taking the time to reflect on our own, personal dreams and definitions of joy.
What’s the problem? We’re not fulfilled. We’re going through the motions of life and denying ourselves the opportunity to realize our potential and real purpose.
These aren’t just my thoughts and theories and the human condition – I want to share with you some data.
Last week I asked my Rally Cry subscribers, “what’s holding you back from living your wildest dreams?” Overwhelming, they said they don’t know what their wildest dream is. To get granular:
51% of my Rally Cry community doesn’t have a wildest dream
And here’s the most amazing thing: Everyone on this list has signed up for Rally Cry – they’re self-selected individuals who care about reaching their potential and know the value of having big dreams.
What this says to me is that if I were to poll the general working population, I’d imagine that 80% + don’t have a wildest dream.
Doesn’t that explain a lot about our working worlds today??
We often work with so many people who are sleepwalking during the workday. Many of us lack awareness of what sets our hearts on fire … what captivates our imaginations … and what purpose we were meant to fulfill.
This is why I do the work I do. I know what it’s like to walk for endless hours on a treadmill, and then get off and say “now what?” It’s tempting to get back on the treadmill, because we know how to do that. What’s hard is to take one foot and step bravely into uncertainty and commit to the work that requires introspection, reflection, and uncertainty … and word vomit … before we discover our North Star to step towards.
I’m here for you … and I’ve got a challenge
Make the commitment to start exploring what your wildest dream could be. Spend 30 minutes this week walking without your headphones and just listening to yourself. Tune inward. And if this is uncomfortable, trust this: the process is working. Everything great starts with discomfort. Just listen to yourself. 30 minutes. That’s it. Can you do that for you? And, then, if it feels awkward and weird, can you do it again? It’s like hot yoga. No one really likes hot yoga, at first. But then, you crave the messy, hot, sweaty experience because you know you’re getting something out of it.
~ Angie
