Today is day 3 in the 30 Days to Changing Your Game Series. The subject? Sabotage. As I read what Carla Young had to say about the lies we tell ourselves and being afraid of success, I realized that I have sabotaged myself over and over. And right there in the comments, I admitted that failure is familiar territory for me.
Why should I be so closely acquainted with failure? I consider myself an overachiever. In college I was disappointed when I got anything less than an A, I even negotiated a D to a B all because I thought the professor was trying to grade me based on her dislike for me personally. Mediocrity is not something I aspire to.
But somehow I’ve often gotten paralyzed with the fear of what might happen if I tried and didn’t succeed.
It’s so much easier to just get by, to do just enough. It takes real courage to push through the fear and jump off the ledge trying to accomplish your goals.
So today’s commitment: I’m going to stop sandbagging. I need a little discomfort to get where I want to go. And since accomplishing my goals means embarking on unfamiliar territory, fear is par for the course.
Its time for me to escape mediocrity. I’m so glad to be part of a new tribe, a new network of people supporting my growth and the accomplishment of my goals.
I leave you with my horoscope for today:
The most important thing to remember about this Saturn transit, Leo, is that the actions you take and even more importantly the words you speak will have effects that last for a long time. Saturn, in your solar chart is in both a sign and a house where it is very comfortable. Over the quarter of a decade that Saturn remains there, you may find yourself networking with (or thrown into the neighborhood of) people who are well established, and very practical. You won’t find this time dry or dull, because many goals will be accomplished with their support.
Kym I am thrilled that you have found your tribe – and lucky me! I’m in it – YAY!!! You can do this girl. I know you can. And we are all here to catch you. 🙂
Sarah
Thanks Sarah. I’m a little overwhelmed but I’m determined to do what I’ve set out to do this year. It’s nice to have the support of a tribe. I’m excited and grateful. 😀
Nelson Mandela gave a wonderful speech some years ago talking about fear..and that it was not the fear of failure that thwarted us so much as the fear of our own success, of owning our own power. I’ll try to find it. It was very powerful. Love.
Well, turns out it is from Marianne Williamson, not Mandela as popularly thought. Anyway…here it is:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”