Rather than fixating on getting where you can't go, figure out where you can go

A fairytale

Here’s a funny thing about humans. We like certainty. We like to be right. We like to know that when we make a move it is the best one. And so we don’t move. We sit where we are- where we can reasonably predict that so-and-so will say the same awkward thing, the toilet will run all day, and that old floorboard will squeak each morning. It’s not a dream come true, but it’s familiar. And unless we get a swift nudge to take a different path, we will probably stay right where we are.

I stayed stuck in one place in my career for a lot of years. I thought maybe things could be better outside the castle, but I didn’t have any guarantees, so it felt reckless to take a chance when I knew I could tolerate “OK.”

I had this fairytale princess dream that someone would see my gifts, hunger for them, and sweep me off my feet with promises of great success and impact. So, I waited. I tried really hard to be good (at the things I didn’t want to do anymore 🤷🏻‍♀️). Unsurprisingly, the career prince in shining armor didn’t come to rescue me while I was feeding a pony by the river.

And finally, a nudge came in the form of a layoff. I stepped out into the blinding light of the world, free to do as I choose. It was terrifying and filled with possibility. Instead of looking for the “right” next step, I decided to focus on how I wanted to feel in the next chapter of my now self-published fairytale.

Instead of trying to write myself into familiar old stories, I asked myself what this moment was perfect for. I asked myself what I’d love to do and feel, for now- not forever (too hard).

There’s real freedom in writing our own stories. And this week as you wander into the complicated, confusing haze of the holidays, maybe the question we can all keep coming back to is:

What is this moment perfect for?

Our interview last week with

Heather Markel

in episode 34 is packed with wisdom like this. I hope you’ll listen. Whether full-time travel is your fairytale or not, I promise you’ll walk away with inspiration and clarity.

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Thank you so much for being here! Let’s keep rising higher, together, 💓 Aransas