Revelation

I’m sadly out of touch with current events, my newspaper subscription limited to Saturday and Sunday when my weekday edition regularly went from the driveway to the recycle bin without ever actually making it into the house.  I can’t tolerate the 10PM news anymore, disgusted by the sensationalistic delivery from plastic faces.  Do we really need to exploit the strife of others?  Consequently, most of what I see comes from my Twitter feeds.  So when my boys informed me of the looming apocalypse I was caught off guard.  Apparently the Mayan calendar is ending on Friday?  http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/Mayan-calendar-ends-on-12212012-Will-it-mean-the-end-of-the-world

If the world ended tomorrow would you feel satisfied that you’d lived the life you wanted to live?  Every day I encounter women who are looking for their next thing.  And while the world waits offering a plethora of opportunity, most of my friends struggle with choosing where to go. Is it that we just want to be great at everything we do, so trying something new is fraught with the fear of failure?  Is it that we still feel an obligation to our loved ones that is so intense we can’t do for ourselves?  Is it that the burning desire beholden to us is too close to our core to share?   When I coach people with their careers, especially long term goal setting, I always ask them to think pie in the sky.  Pretend there are no limits, pretend your talent or skills don’t really matter, pretend there are no obstacles, what would you want to do?

It takes courage to answer that question.  What really matters to us, what we most want to pursue is in that place where we are most vulnerable.  To get there, we need to shed some fear. 

I was talking with a woman I work with a few weeks ago; she wanted to attend the office Christmas party in the city, but she didn’t want to drive.  When she responded to my suggestion to take public transportation by saying she’d never done that before and was afraid to try, I challenged her to go for it.  I told her how amazing it would feel to take that risk.  She wouldn’t commit, but when I saw her at the party a few days later, she couldn’t wait to tell me she’d hopped on the L.  Woo hoo; her smile was wide with confidence!   This is a woman who can rule the world, I’m certain.

If you haven’t stepped outside of your box yet, or colored outside of your lines, my advice to you, as it was to her, is just do it.  You need to. Because if the world ends tomorrow, while I still feel like I have so much more to do here, what I’ve already done could be enough because I know the absolute thrill and satisfaction that comes with taking risks.  It’s unmatched by anything else you’ve ever experienced.  I guarantee it.  Do one thing a day that scares you, really.

My scary thing for the end of the world tomorrow is to have a party. It’s what the Mayans are doing.  How ironic, considering I didn’t know the world is set to end.  Inviting people into my home is always a little unnerving.  I wonder if I can hold my own as a host?  Hopefully we have until 11:59 before everything blows up.  I have lots of wine.