The long list of “reasons why I can’t”
I have a truly long list of EPIC adventures (big & small!) that I’ve been dreaming of doing for years! About the time I realized my list wasn’t getting any shorter was the same time I realized I have a serious mental block against LIVING MY DREAMS!
Seriously, if I even *start* getting close to making one happen for REAL, I immediately engage in “backpedal-overdrive” and talk myself out of it before having the chance to begin!
A little INSANE? Uh, yeah, for sure!
It’s like I keep a long, list of “reasons-why-I-can’t” … Just in case I’m ever tempted to dream big! First on the list is
“Stay Here. Stay Small. Stay Safe.”
That one has stopped more EPIC awesomeness over the years than I can count!
If I actually do make it thru the whole list before deciding no, there’s always the handy trump card in my back pocket:
“You’re not good enough”.
That one gets me every time.
It’s the ultimate ‘opt-out’ line. I’ve used it alot, but never to my advantage.
A nudge to something different
One of my dreams for as long as I can remember has been to explore Mt St Helens! This mountain has ALWAYS fascinated me! When I discovered that hiking the Loowit trail would let me experience it up close and personal, I was ecstatic! And I *stayed* ecstatic, *dreaming* but *NOT doing* for years. I never let myself believe I could actually make it happen!
Then the *unthinkable* happened … but not in the way you might think. (And yes, it’s really embarrassing to share this … but INSANITY knows no limits! So let’s just “rip the band-aid off”, shall we?!)
I told my friend about my idea of hiking the Loowit trail around Mt St Helens. She got so excited she planned a trip! When she reached out to invite me, you bet I promptly showed up! BUT NOT with a backpack and ready for the adventure of my dreams. No, I came WITH ABSOLUTELY EVERY “WHY-I-CAN’T” REASON ON MY LIST!! (And yes, it took them all plus the trump card)
Like, what the freak, Right?!!?! Here was MY DREAM ADVENTURE … even planned for me so all I had to do was show up & tag along! And I was pulling out every big, fat NO I could find!
WWWHHHYYYY!??!?!!??
Seriously, textbook definition of INSANITY.
In the end, my friend had to cancel the trip and I had to sheepishly admit I was RELIEVED. Apparently NO ONE else gets to live MY dreams while I’m not?!? Super petty of me and yes, I was horrified to even be thinking that way!
BUT! THAT was how the *unthinkable* finally happened.
I was so horrified at myself I decided to STOP THE INSANITY and do something different.
The first “why I can”
Different in that moment already had a WHAT:
Plan my own epic adventure around Mt St Helens!
Invite my friend to come with ME.
And a WHY:
Because I was done being INSANE.
For How, and When … I still had NO IDEA, but I decided to *JUST START!* Surprisingly, just start was so much easier than I thought! Literally, it was:
STOP LISTENING TO ALL MY
“REASONS WHY I CAN’T”
live my dreams in my life!
THAT thinking was NOT working for me anymore and I was done with it!
When I finally let myself believe that I would just figure it all out … I was shocked to find out that I COULD!
And I did!
Saying YES to adventure!
The first thing I packed for my trip was my “reasons-why-I-can’t” list and that trump card. They got stuffed deep in the bottom of a box with the label “NOT HELPING” across the front. Wrapping it securely in layers of heavy-duty duct tape, I threw it up on the dusty shelf of ‘dreams for someday’.
There was room for it now! I’d just taken down and dusted off the box marked “Epic Adventure Around Active Volcano”!
Mt St Helen’s here I come!!
It was time to start Living My Dreams!
Making EPICS Actually Happen!
I think the hardest part of any adventure is just getting to the starting line! So my best advice for Making EPICS Actually Happen is:
#1
Stop overthinking it!
#2
Just START! Go ahead! Try it!
#3
Be ok with Modification & Moderation
If you can’t eat the whole elephant at first,
start with one bite … then go from there!
INSANITY really is better, one bite at a time!