When I first heard about the Women's March last November, I was SO excited about it! Finally a march for women. Women to stand up and be seen. Our voices being heard. To show we exist and matter.
Feminine power rising in a time where we need it most. Nurturing, empathic, multi-dimensional, high quality, considering everyone affected when making a decision, and the list goes on. #mothernature. Not a knock to masculine power but we have enough in the world and the balance has been skewed for some time.
This march was everything about empowering women and it wasn't even a second thought for me. I help women step into their own power so wouldn't I march with so many to show our collective power?
And yet, sometimes the very things we get so fired up about is what can dissipate with the best rationalization ever. The thing you know for certain in every part of your being -- so much so you get those tingly feelings throughout your body -- can be what we end up letting go so easily.
Why is that?
Feminine power rising in a time where we need it most. Nurturing, empathic, multi-dimensional, high quality, considering everyone affected when making a decision, and the list goes on. #mothernature. Not a knock to masculine power but we have enough in the world and the balance has been skewed for some time.
This march was everything about empowering women and it wasn't even a second thought for me. I help women step into their own power so wouldn't I march with so many to show our collective power?
And yet, sometimes the very things we get so fired up about is what can dissipate with the best rationalization ever. The thing you know for certain in every part of your being -- so much so you get those tingly feelings throughout your body -- can be what we end up letting go so easily.
Why is that?
Well there's a science to it. When we're about to embark on something new (could be something we're afraid of or even not), our critter brain (aka the lymbic system, reptilian brain, primal instinct) goes into panic. The part of us developed for survival against animals in the night or poisonous berries....except those aren't our worries anymore. In a developed world, the critter brain instead keeps us from anything new because it literally thinks if you do the new thing -- you will die. YES, DIE. This isn't extreme, it's the way we've been developed to protect ourselves.
So we say no to lots of things. New experiences, new people, even new ways to go somewhere. New opportunities with one part of you saying YES!!! and the other part running around in circles screaming NOOOO!!
This mind battle runs the gammet of big and small things and the critter brain (left to run the show) keeps us doing the same thing over and over and OVER again. The food we eat, the people we socialize with, the activities we do.
Boring, right? And limiting too. You're yearning to do more, curious about trying something new, or intrigued by something you've heard and yet you are stuck unable to take the next step.The critter brain is reason we end up letting fear paralyze us....fear actually IS paralyzing.
Here's what's fascinating though. This same part of our brain is kind of like a small kid crying who wants to just know things are going to be ok so she can carry on.
So once you take one step and you DON'T die, the critter brain marks that activity as ok. It goes to the side of the checklist of safe and the fear is no longer there.
So taking one step in the direction of where you want to go allows you to take the next...and the next...and so on.
Isn't that neat?!
When I learned this, my life changed because I realized I just had to keep taking the next step. At first that meant just voicing one sentence to stand up for myself in an unjust relationship even though I was quivering inside. Now it means, I stand in my truth with you and even strangers with confidence (mostly, lol!).
It meant investing in myself in a bold financial way even though I had never spent money on JUST me. And now it means I value myself by investing in coaches, programs and experiences that matter to me...and benefit countless others too.
That never could have happened without the first step. Without pushing past the fear when I knew in my heart of hearts...I had to take that step.
Our critter brain is the loudest when we're ready to step into what we know deep within is our truth. What we want to do. What we deeply desire. The more you want something, the louder it will be until you take the first step and it calms down.
For me, the women's march represented so much more than just a day in DC. And while I tried to convince myself I didn't have the money for the ultra expensive tickets, or I didn't have the time since I was launching an online program, or that it wasn't that big of a deal (*gasp!* that was SO not me talking)...there was a part of me that knew these were excuses. The money would be spent elsewhere anyways and I couldn't spend my time in the confines of my 4 walls wasting away behind a laptop. Ironically my husband was in DC for work anyways so I was literally sitting alone in my apartment staring at the walls and making multiple trips to the pantry.
So 3 days before the march, I booked a ticket and my friend laughed calling me loco. Yes! I was and am! I am crazy about living my life and not letting it just pass by me. The final push was imagining if I were to die the following week...what would I do? Well that was clear and my decision was made. I got on a plane filled with a bunch of other women going for the march and the energy just kept growing from there. Arriving in DC to madness, thrill, excitement, sisterhood, humanityhood, and an all out yes we can. Yes I can. Yes you CAN.
And YOU CAN! What would you do if you were to take that first step to what you know deep within? Just the first step. Respond and let me know and I will cheer you on! Remember you just have to try something and your critter brain will feel better and go back to coloring in peace. This is one thing you DO have control of. :)
Hugs,
Shazia
So we say no to lots of things. New experiences, new people, even new ways to go somewhere. New opportunities with one part of you saying YES!!! and the other part running around in circles screaming NOOOO!!
This mind battle runs the gammet of big and small things and the critter brain (left to run the show) keeps us doing the same thing over and over and OVER again. The food we eat, the people we socialize with, the activities we do.
Boring, right? And limiting too. You're yearning to do more, curious about trying something new, or intrigued by something you've heard and yet you are stuck unable to take the next step.The critter brain is reason we end up letting fear paralyze us....fear actually IS paralyzing.
Here's what's fascinating though. This same part of our brain is kind of like a small kid crying who wants to just know things are going to be ok so she can carry on.
So once you take one step and you DON'T die, the critter brain marks that activity as ok. It goes to the side of the checklist of safe and the fear is no longer there.
So taking one step in the direction of where you want to go allows you to take the next...and the next...and so on.
Isn't that neat?!
When I learned this, my life changed because I realized I just had to keep taking the next step. At first that meant just voicing one sentence to stand up for myself in an unjust relationship even though I was quivering inside. Now it means, I stand in my truth with you and even strangers with confidence (mostly, lol!).
It meant investing in myself in a bold financial way even though I had never spent money on JUST me. And now it means I value myself by investing in coaches, programs and experiences that matter to me...and benefit countless others too.
That never could have happened without the first step. Without pushing past the fear when I knew in my heart of hearts...I had to take that step.
Our critter brain is the loudest when we're ready to step into what we know deep within is our truth. What we want to do. What we deeply desire. The more you want something, the louder it will be until you take the first step and it calms down.
For me, the women's march represented so much more than just a day in DC. And while I tried to convince myself I didn't have the money for the ultra expensive tickets, or I didn't have the time since I was launching an online program, or that it wasn't that big of a deal (*gasp!* that was SO not me talking)...there was a part of me that knew these were excuses. The money would be spent elsewhere anyways and I couldn't spend my time in the confines of my 4 walls wasting away behind a laptop. Ironically my husband was in DC for work anyways so I was literally sitting alone in my apartment staring at the walls and making multiple trips to the pantry.
So 3 days before the march, I booked a ticket and my friend laughed calling me loco. Yes! I was and am! I am crazy about living my life and not letting it just pass by me. The final push was imagining if I were to die the following week...what would I do? Well that was clear and my decision was made. I got on a plane filled with a bunch of other women going for the march and the energy just kept growing from there. Arriving in DC to madness, thrill, excitement, sisterhood, humanityhood, and an all out yes we can. Yes I can. Yes you CAN.
And YOU CAN! What would you do if you were to take that first step to what you know deep within? Just the first step. Respond and let me know and I will cheer you on! Remember you just have to try something and your critter brain will feel better and go back to coloring in peace. This is one thing you DO have control of. :)
Hugs,
Shazia