She looked across the table at me and said, If you feel stuck, it’s because you stopped growing.
I sat with those words for a few days until I recounted them to JD over a Sunday night dinner. Luna played with her chopsticks and I mindlessly poked at steamed cabbage and tofu, as I told JD I need time and space to think about my next steps.
An hour later, he booked a few nights in the desert for me to think and dream how I want to grow.
I got Luna, JD said, so please just focus on yourself. Luna raised her chopsticks and gave me a bright smile, chow mien strung through her tiny teeth.
A few days later, I found myself at Sensei, practicing yoga, meditating daily, sitting with a mindset coach, doing fascia release workouts, and practicing central nervous system relaxation techniques…
…and carrying my journal everywhere.
Before my trip began, my business mentor gave me a list of questions to answer, but I also used the time to reflect on and write about the last decade.
What was I grateful for? What was I proud of? What scared me the most? What was the biggest lesson?
I looked at myself outside of myself and expressed gratitude for what I had accomplished, but—mostly—for not quitting.
Because there were a LOT of times I wanted to quit.
Somewhere in the pages of notes, I also allowed myself to dwell in the Land of Possibility.
- What if anything could happen?
- What if everything I planned came to fruition?
- What if I got everything I wanted?
As much as I’d like to end this note with “AND THEN I CREATED MY BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS PLAN…” you won’t find it here.
But what I did discover was the following: The last decade taught me not to dwell in triumph or despair, for the magnitude of the joy can only be found in the middle, where the dark work is done and your greatest hopes thrive.
To those of us in the middle,
j*
P.S. Looking for a 13-minute mindset shift that’ll rock your face off? I dropped a podcast quickie and it’s taken off like wildfire…listen to “How to Write a Better Story for Your Future” now!