I put myself in a bad situation:
By waiting too long to face the unknown by taking a new path in my career, life “helped” me into action with a blessing disguised as a health crisis.
This pushed me to resign, which thrust me deep into unfamiliar territory.
So in the end, I confronted the very thing I was trying to avoid, but on steroids.
Which kind of discomfort will you choose?
This story will get to neighbors, I promise. But my fingers first want to say that we can face our discomfort and grow intentionally, or languish and “invite” life to intervene harshly to break us out of a rut THROUGH to a better reality.
Assuming that the intervention doesn’t break us DOWN.
Which kind of discomfort will you choose?
Getting to where I am now has been rough, but my reward is something that I was desperate for decades to find: clarity about soul-soothing work, which is huge because “clarity brings prosperity,” to quote author Joel Fotinos.
Though I’m not yet enjoying a level of prosperity—aliveness—that I know is available to me, I also know that I’m more on the path of it than ever.
I’m choosing the discomfort of evolution over repetition.
After resigning as a health care program analyst, I considered that I might be happier as a health coach working directly with the “everyday” people I wanted to serve but felt disconnected from while tucked away in my federal office.
I got health coaching study materials, but my sister said that was a stalling tactic. “Start now with what you know,” she said. And I did. I got past my nerves and invited some neighbors to learn in my living room and kitchen.
The results were good for them. And for me too, but not on the surface: I got clear mighty quick that making a career of health coaching wasn’t for me.
So I kept trying different things.
To quote another author, Michael Hyatt, …
“People don’t want to commit until they have clarity,
but clarity comes with movement.”
So, I’ve been stalling again by letting my “validate everything” scientific training hold me back from fully committing to my work around fostering vertical villages, or caring communities for and by neighbors in multifamily housing.
But on the flip side, my training grew my muscles for doing experiments, so now I’m looking for a multifamily housing leader ready to explore with me.
And I’m not dilly-dallying because I’ve had a taste of the blessings in disguise that life will send to “help” me evolve. And I’m NOT trying to repeat that!
Which kind of discomfort will you choose?
People are suffering. I get that. But I can’t help but see current events as jolts to “help” us change course and evolve, individually and collectively.
Yes, that means facing the discomfort of the unknown, but the known is pretty grim and will likely get worse before getting better. Unless we choose to use the turmoil as fuel to break THROUGH, we risk it breaking us DOWN.
To be prosperous—to feel more ALIVE—choose the discomfort of being distasteful to some and seeming uncaring or out of touch.
When we understand that the climate inside of us drives the climate outside of us, we understand that living in joy is the greatest thing we can do for us all.
But misery loves company, and not everyone will be thrilled by our lightness and us ditching prevailing narratives in favor of ones filled with possibilities.
Look to other folks for facts about the scourge of social disconnection. I’m here to talk our evolution toward connection by getting practical:
1. Pick one thing you’re curious about learning, teaching or doing.
Pick something that perks you up to think about, not something you think you SHOULD pick. If what you pick gives you the jitters too, all the better.
2. Invite some neighbors to join you.
Hang a flyer. Post on a neighborhood site. You could say, “Anyone interested in XYZ?” If two or more folks bite, call it a success and figure it out as you go.
3. Encourage others to take action (evolve) by sharing your experience.
Whatever happens is good because you’ll be more clear in the end. But do share your thoughts about what you’ll do or not do in other experiments. Doing this will have the added benefit of evolving your communication skills.
My former neighbors helped me grow as a community builder. I’m using “data” from that time to face the discomfort of evolving into a vertical village catalyst.
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