“We lock ourselves in a cage where ‘not now,’ ‘not ready’ and our comfort kills dreams. Don’t choose comfort over courage,” Loren Ridinger.  A perfect follow up to what we talked about yesterday. I’ve hit on these points quite a bit this week but this one is a bit more subtle than the others.  Sure the overarching theme is the same: we choose our path and what happens is a result of our actions.  But this stood out because of the nuance of the thought. It really is something as small as saying “not now” or believing we aren’t ready because we don’t think we can do it perfectly that can keep us right where we are.  Comfort is nice and we seek it, but if we really think about it, that isn’t what we want.  We are seeking safety and safety is outside of our comfort zone believe it or not. Because when we seek comfort, we are looking for things to be easy and attainable and within reach.  The safety we seek comes when we have a means to attain the things we want that will continually provide.  It has nothing to do with how we feel, it has to do with how we set up the path of our lives—security in freedom.

Every time we choose “not now” or “not ready” we are telling the universe that we don’t want what is being offered—even if it’s the exact thing we were asking for.  Whatever lies behind that feeling of not being ready is where we have to start.  Identify what it is that makes us feel not ready.  I know in many instances it’s the lack of self-worth that keeps us where we are but I’ve recently had to tackle the demons around the idea that it isn’t the lack of self-worth but the fear of succeeding and that is something I thought I had done a long time ago.  The idea that we would reject our own success is ridiculous, right?  The reality is success brings a lot of unknowns.  Will I be able to maintain it?  Will I be able to duplicate it?  Will the people I love still support me?  What if they don’t believe in me?  It does take courage to take a leap into something new because we can’t see what’s underneath.  I learned that taking the leap often does turn things upside down and when you jump you will eventually get back to the top.

I don’t know what that thing is that will make people feel strong enough to do it because I certainly don’t in spite of the fact that I had to make some difficult choices and changes recently.  I had to get really honest with myself about my role in my journey.  Look at the distraction, look at the fear, look at the choices I was making and ask if that was in line with what I wanted.  I have a giant pool of things that I want to do and I know all are feasible and tie together but instead of focusing on those things I make sure everyone else’s stuff is done first.  Then I ask why I haven’t been making progress on what I wanted.  That habit is a “not now” moment as well.  Sure, it’s nice to be helpful but when it cuts away at the energy and time we have for our own ventures, we have to ask if that’s the right thing to do, if that’s what is really needed in that moment.  It’s a prime example of knowing what we have to do and having evidence of success.  So reframe—not now becomes yes, now and not ready becomes the chance we were waiting for.