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Hold the Vision … Trust the Process

eye-sm copyI hear two voices.

One is confident. The other scared.

One believes. The other expresses doubt.

One sings. The other whimpers.

One voice belongs to an adult … the other to a five year old.

The voices are my own.

If I listen to the voice of fear and doubt, I can easily go from feeling inspired and playing big to feeling insecure and acting small. And that’s no good, because that’s not a “place” from which extraordinary things happen.

I choose to be a contribution, giving it my best, making a difference, doing big things. I have an expansive and compelling vision. Safe, secure, and small won’t get me there. But when I stretch myself, as I have to in order to do the big things I want to do, that’s when the unwelcome voice chimes in.

“Look how big the jump is from here to there. It’s scary. You’ve never done this before. You might fail. There’s so much to do. How will you ever manage? This is something real professionals do. Why are you pretending you can do it?”

Unwelcome, yes, but actually, when that voice shows up, it’s a good sign! It means I’ve gotten out of my comfort zone and I know that’s where a lot of good things can happen. But only if I don’t pay too much attention to the chatter.

I’m guessing it’s the same for you. You hear the voice too. The question is, do you let it stop you?

In my experience, there are two times when I’m most likely to at least pause and listen if not get stopped outright. The first is when I’m just getting started on a big undertaking and I get overwhelmed trying to imagine how I’m ever going to do everything I have to do.

The other is when I have to put myself on the line and make myself vulnerable … when I expose myself to the judgment of others.

Case in point: Years ago, when I first looked at what it would take to complete my PCC (Professional Certified Coach) certification in 6 months time, it was overwhelming. The voice was saying, “What, are you crazy? With all you already have to do! Completing 36 self tests, getting a mentor coach, having her review and critique six taped coaching sessions, writing the letter of why I deserve the certification, and documenting over 3000 hours of coaching in a coaching log … among other things. The voice of doubt thought the load looked way too heavy and said so.

And once it came down to the wire, and I had to coach a Master Coach with another Master Coach listening in and critiquing my performance, the voice of fear said it was just way too risky. It disapproved. It disliked the choice I’d made to put myself into this situation. It wanted to sabotage the effort. It suggested I run away.

No. Instead, I did what I tell my clients to do. Hold the vision and trust the process.

Hold the vision and trust the process!

That phrase sits on my wall, where I look at it everyday. Because, when it comes down to it, a large part of getting what you want and manifesting a reality that honors your dreams involves having faith. It requires trusting that the thought which is only an idea in your head or a desire in your heart is just as real and far more powerful than the voice of “reality” that says you can’t have or shouldn’t do.

In the words of the poet, Rabintranath Tagore:

The faith waiting in a seed
Promises a miracle of life
Which it cannot prove at once
The power of potential and possibility …

Never let anyone talk you out of believing in it, including yourself.

Love,
Denise

Meet Denise: Denise Hedges is a Business Development Coach and Speaker Coach for small business owners who want to be more comfortable, confident, and successful with their sales and marketing efforts. She specializes in helping them use speaking as a way to dramatically improve their results!

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