Doing the Impossible $$

I was emailing a writer friend, Laurie Cosbey, and this popped out. If you want to see my self-coaching process, this is me, tracking down a false belief to arrive at a powerful Say What You See phrase for myself:

9:23 AM email to Laurie:

Yes, SWYS is a simple how-to for getting present – the place of all experience, connection and power. There they are  – the three basic needs* that can only be met in the “now.” Wow! That’s a new thought. No wonder it is so powerful!

 

Just for grins, you might want to read this insight I had earlier this year related to writing. I need to read it again and again myself. I’ve been in my “I can’t” zone a lot lately looking at how to make Language of Listening® into a financially successful business. That doesn’t seem like my job, I’m the content creator. Yet it keeps coming back to me, and I keep expecting myself to be able to do it “because no one else will.” Huge resistance. I need to look at that.

 

Could I be creating “no one else will” so I will have to try? Weird as it may seem, as long as I expect myself to be able to do something, this could be my mechanism for setting “impossible” challenges for myself. As I said, I need to look at this more, though all I want to do is look away. I mean, why would I think I could or should do the impossible? Something about this is very familiar… perfectionism… ideal=goal. Uh, oh! I do think I should do the impossible! What could I be trying to prove?

 

Hmm… this email started with needs, why do I “need” to be able to do the impossible? I think I’ll start there. SWYS: “You think you need to do the impossible.” That hits home. I’ll stay with that today and see what pops.

10:00 AM Just finished my shower, a great place for contemplation:

I found a lot of “proof” for this point of view:

 

1. We pass our issues on to our kids: My oldest daughter Colleen always wanted to do impossible things – to fly (really), to ride in Santa’s sleigh (really)…now she is tackling NYC determined to become a famous artist by age 25 (this year). She’s almost there.

 

2. We inherit our issues from our parents: My dad always wanted to do impossible things. If someone said he couldn’t, he had to prove he could. He was a self-made business man of the 1950’s, and with a GED and 2-yr community college education, he designed and built a prototype of a tiny garbage truck with a revolutionary double compacting blade (Smithpack) that held as much as trucks twice it’s size.

 

3. The buck stops here (pun intended): I keep doing impossible things. Without an academic degree in the field of child development or psychology, I co-authored a treatment manual for play therapists, created a revolutionary parenting and personal growth tool (heart model), and published an award-winning book for parents. Now I’m tackling business and marketing… Jeez! There it is. I have LOTS of proof.

 

Sudden new thought: “You are here to do the impossible.”

 

Hmm. Something is right about that. It kind of tugs at the corners of my mouth. I might like it, but still too scary. I need to spend some time today flipping back and forth between validating my fear, “You think you need to do the impossible,” and this new truth, “You are here to do the impossible,” in order to fully embrace this new idea that challenge could be fun instead of threatening.

Are these thoughts striking a chord with you? Let me know what you think.

*The new Three Basic Needs tool is introduced in the back of the paperback and Kindle versions of SWYS.