There are few things in life that impact us the way that fear does. Our brains are hardwired for the scary crap in life so it can flip on the alarms, send us running and keep us safe.
The thing is that this alarm system is frigging super sensitive and can be so insidious you don’t even realize it’s there. You just know your stress levels are up through the roof and you are left wondering why. You get up every day and do the things you do every day and while none of it seems remotely scary, you have this underlying feeling that all is not right with your world.
You might even spend a chunk of time trying to ignore this warning system. You might make yourself busier than usual and drown out the alarm. You might drink a little more than usual and let the buzz overshadow the emotions, or find yourself checking emails and social media to drown out other realities.
That’s when the Universe kicks in and will stir things up for you to get your attention.
If you are not doing the things that you SHOULD be doing – and by “should” I am implying the gifts and passions that you have been given, and you are stuck doing the things you feel you must do by the life you have built – then the Universe at some point is going to start pulling some stuff to get your attention.
And it’s going to hit your FEAR triggers with unrelenting annoyance!
You may have anxiety attacks.
Your heart may race.
You may stop sleeping well and wake up at crazy hours of the morning.
Your daily routine and habitual activities may start to take on a bitter flavor. Even when, intrinsically, they are actually good things to be doing!
These last few months, I was going through this. I had been ignoring some underlying feelings about my everyday life. I had, with much excitement, released my first children’s book in December and I was in love for the first time with what I was doing. I had created this 34-page book filled with beauty and truth and I was releasing it into the world. I was so excited and I was anticipating nothing but good things to come my way. Instead the Universe unleashed a shit storm of epic proportions into my life!
What the hell? Here’s the list from the last 2 months.
- A massive unexpected hit to the bank account.
- House needed to go up for sale.
- Discovery of black mold somewhere in the basement. (delaying putting the house on the market)
- Flu – (my immune system took this deluge of stress and said screw it!)
- Upstairs shower broke and needed repair. (Hit #2 to the bank account)
- Downstairs shower needed rebuilding after an 11th hour discovery of the location of mold and the ensuing remediation (hit #3 to the bank account!)
- I had to put my dog down. (hit #4 to the bank account along with a huge emotional sucker punch to the gut)
- An invasion of ants and the visitation of pest control. (hit #5 – I started giggling a little hysterically at this point!)
- I came very close to setting my house on fire after a week of unprecedented activity, when I forgot I left a pan on the stove and left for the weekend.
This is actually the short list!
Since I carry the belief that nothing in life happens without the purpose of bringing some sort of lesson into your life I began to examine the things that were happening.
And this is what I came up with.
- In releasing my book into the Universe, the Universe came back and asked, “How badly do you really want this?”. I had to reexamine what I was doing for a day job, and how it was impacting my ability to focus on my passion.
- Not being able to focus on what you love to do and be on this planet, can cause some serious stress.
- In conversation with my naturopath about my stress levels and what had been going on, he made the following statement. “The universe will throw this stuff at you and make life so uncomfortable and difficult when it needs you to move from where you are. There is a huge change coming up in your life. You don’t necessarily know what the outcome is or should be, but the change is coming.” It made complete sense, and being imminently an empty nester, I could see the change, but now I was beginning to grasp the potential of its impact outside of that optic.
I could stay stuck in fear and fight all this change OR just embrace it and allow it to carry me into my future.
Since I enjoy sleeping, I think the latter option is the better one to embrace.
So what have I done? The house is up for sale (all repairs done and uninvited guests are gone!) and will be sold shortly. I will be moving back home. I’ve fought this idea for about 3 years, but now I’m excited to be near my extended family. I haven’t had that in about 28 years. And when my girls come, they will have a shorter drive to see me and to have a good mom-cooked meal. Moving there will allow me to live in a way that I can focus on my writing and developing more books.
I let go of my day job!!! This one was HUGE to let go of. It’s ridiculously difficult to let go of a stable steady paycheque! I deliberated this for several weeks but chose to listen to that inner voice despite the alarms and I am looking forward to having the time to focus on what is important to me and what I value.
In the middle of the shit storm, I really wondered if it would last forever. My fear levels and subsequent stress started to rise significantly. I felt stuck in the mire until I started to contemplate the lessons this period was offering me. When I could sit back and reflect on this, the opportunities began to flow out of it. Without a strong support team, coaches, mentors, friends, family and an openness to universal timing, the revelations would not have been possible for me.
What are you ignoring, not doing, justifying etc in your life that’s preventing you from moving forward?
If you’re in your own shit storm and you need some help please reach out to Full Circle Coaching and Consulting so our coaches can help you see the lessons and release the opportunities you may be missing.
Update: Since this blog was originally written, the author has sold her house, for well over asking, and is planning a trip to France, for a month, to concentrate on writing. And a new home is being built for her, back home, that will help her live her ideal life! With a deep, heartfelt HUGE thank you to the coaches of Full Circle Coaching and Consulting.
