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When Your Calling Finds You, Remember to Say Yes

Yes to CallingThere was a time when I longed to find my calling. I felt like I was missing a part of myself that I’d never touched, felt, or seen, but it was something so important that I couldn’t stop looking for it. And, I looked everywhere: in the words of self-help gurus, in the lines of poems, in astrology and tarot card readings, in personality tests, and in talks with my closest friends.

It turns out I was so busy scouting around for my calling that it couldn’t find me. When I slowed down a bit and sat with what was happening in and around me, there it was.

A former colleague of mine had gone on to study life coaching and was in the process of getting certified. She needed to have a few pro bono clients to complete her program and wanted to know if I would let her coach me.

I had no idea what I was in for. The goals I initially wanted to work on became unimportant. Life coaching was calling to me. I had a thousand reasons to say no to it, but the one resounding, inexplicable “yes” spoke the loudest.

In 2002 I signed up for a certification course, moved from my one bedroom apartment into a two bedroom so I’d have room for an office, and left my full time social work job at the end of March, 2003.

The calling was powerful and it fueled me through some pretty scary times. I kept saying yes to it even when I didn’t know how.

The Feeling of Wanting Something

 
People started coming to me to find their callings, and I obliged them, guiding them on a journey inward. Oftentimes we had to start with the basics of desire. I’d ask, “How do you know when you want something?” Many would say that they knew what they didn’t want (and how that felt), but weren’t sure at all about their desires.

I invited them to pay attention to anything and everything they were drawn to during the course of a day, to pause at the dozens of small choice points where they said “yes” to one thing and “no” to another: picking out their clothes in the morning, choosing which routes to take on their commute, deciding what to eat for lunch, which friend to call, what movie to see, etc.

In this way, I reintroduced them to their most basic yearnings and preferences, and most importantly, I helped them connect with the feeling of saying yes to those choices.

To want something, to say “yes, please,” and then to have it … what could be more satisfying?

This. Just Because.

 
From there, we would surface bigger, deeper desires. Sometimes the wanting would be squashed by feelings of unworthiness. “Who am I to … ?” Or, “I can’t possibly have this. It’s too much.” I encouraged them to stay in the place of wanting first. No “yes, but,” just “yes.”

It’s not easy. Tears flow because it’s a sacred thing to hold your desires cupped in your hands, breathing them in and placing them gently over your heart and onto your belly.

We are unaccustomed to this form of self-love.

A calling isn’t something you quest after and pine for. It’s a turning toward the self in the most loving of actions, saying yes to a preference or a yearning just because.

Big and small, callings motion to us all the time, speaking our truth. “This,” they say. “This is what you want. This feels like home. This makes you feel alive. This reminds you of who you are and why you are here. This. Just because.”

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DEBBIE LACY is the author and creator of Ready, Set, Manifest!™, a paradigm and set of skills that helps people get from where they are to where they want to be. Debbie’s private Facebook group is a place where people can get tools and support for the “in-between” times in life.

Today I got really bold.

When Goals Hold You Back: Essences First

 

Today I got really bold. I stopped putting my life on hold.As a life coach, I’m all for goals… except when they start becoming a reason to put your life on hold. If you’re waiting to experience freedom, confidence, joy, or fun until you accomplish whatever goals you’re working on, you may be putting the cart before the horse. Or, more specifically, the goals before the essences.

What are essences? Essences are your purest, simplest, deepest desires. They are the reason behind every goal you can think of. An “essence” is the Why behind your What.

Essences aren’t the same as core values (principles you uphold that form your moral compass). Essences are qualities and experiences you want more of in your daily life. There may be some overlap with your values, but some values are things that we want for everyone, not just ourselves. Each essence is something you define for yourself, and some are more important than others.

As you define yours, make sure you’re not selecting ones that are means to an end. For example, you may be tempted to put “Courage” as one of your essences. Is it the feeling and experience of courage that you want more of in your life, or do you want courage so that you can experience something else? That “something else” is an essence, and courage is just one of the resources you’ll use to build that essence into your life.

Your essences are the evidence and legacy of a life well lived.

How to Name Your Essences

To find your essences and make sure they’re leading the way, you may need to do a little digging. I have an exercise that can help.

The 9 Whys is a group facilitation exercise I learned from Liberating Structures, which was created by Keith McCandless and Henri Lipmanowicz. In addition to my coaching work, I provide facilitation services to nonprofits, local government departments, and community coalitions. One of the most powerful resources I bring is inviting them to remember – or in some cases reinvent – their purpose.

It’s easy for people to get caught up in their day to day work and forget the point of it all. Why are we doing this work? Why does it matter?

When groups get disconnected from their Why, everything gets harder. The path to action gets fuzzy. Relationships falter. Goals go unmet. Holding patterns keep them stuck.

The same is true in our own lives.

I’ve adapted the 9 Whys exercise to apply it to individuals who may be feeling stuck or on hold.

STEP ONE

Think about something you really want to do or have in your life.

Now ask yourself why that’s important to you.  Then ask why that’s important to you.

And, why is THAT important to you?

You get the idea. Keep going, peeling the layers until you get to the essence of your Why.

If you do this with every goal you have, you may end up with several essences. And then you’re ready for something life changing.

STEP TWO

Hold your goals lightly but your essences tightly. Release attachment to your goals. They aren’t nearly as important as your essences. Any goal you may be focused on at the moment is simply one possible path to your true desires (essences).

Furthermore, your goals have been born out of what you currently know to be possible and who you are right now. As you evolve, it’s important to allow your goals to evolve.

I’m not saying you should throw your goals out the window and keep changing them every year. That’s not going to get you anywhere. I’m inviting you to prioritize your essences over your goals.

So, for just a moment, forget about your goals. Starting with each essence you identified, ask yourself, what would be the best way for me to have more of this essence in my life this year? This month? Right now? 

This line of inquiry does two very important things:

1. It puts your essences in the driver’s seat. When your goals flow from your deepest desires, your intentions and actions will be better aligned with the energy you need to propel you forward.

2. It allows you to start living in new ways now. There’s no need to wait until your goals are fulfilled. Essences are needs we can build now by focusing on them and creating opportunities each and every day to have those experiences.

STEP THREE

Take action on something that will help you experience more of at least one of your essences this week. Then be sure to track your essences over time and watch how your ability to consciously tend to them will grow the things that matter most.

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Goals are important to have, but they require planning, action steps, and at least a few factors that are outside our control. Essences speak to the overall, big picture experiences you desire. They’re about quality of life, not about specific, limited benchmarks. Lead with them and you can’t go wrong.

There are thousands of ways – big and small – to experience your essences without waiting a single moment more.

Here are examples of essences that may resonate with you:

 

Freedom

Loving Relationships

Meaningful Work

Recognition

Fun/Play

Creativity

Spiritual Connection

Physical Health

Advocacy

Personal Power

Adventure

Success

Joy

Sense of Community

 

Essences Worksheet and Tracking Log

 

Click here for instant access to the Essences Worksheet and Tracking Log (free, of course).

I love what one of my community members said after trying it out:

“I scheduled a reminder in my google calendar to re-do my essences today. I did these ratings ‘blind’ to my former ones … so it was amazing to see that Success (one of my essences) jumped from 1 to 7. Like holy crap, really?”

One of the core manifestation principles is that what you focus on will grow. Identifying your essences and tracking them over time is an easy and effective way to manifest them. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

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DEBBIE LACY is the author and creator of Ready, Set, Manifest!™, a paradigm and set of skills that helps people get from where they are to where they want to be. Debbie’s private Facebook group is a place where people can get the tools and support to manage their fears, take action, and have the life they’ve been dreaming about.

15 Year-End Journaling Prompts to Clarify and Inspire

2016 Year End Journaling GraphicT.S. Eliot wrote, “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” (Excerpt from the poem Little Gidding)

What was last year’s language for you?

What voice is emerging to utter next year’s words and its story?

In my annual year-end journaling activity, I invite you to look back on the year and gather your words. 15 questions guide you to reflect on the most important messages from 2016 and what you want to keep, drop, or invent as you move into 2017.

Download the free pdf here.

I’d love to hear from you. What’s your favorite question and what did it prompt in you? Let me know in my private Facebook group. We’re a supportive community that practices the skills required to live our best possible lives.

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DEBBIE LACY is the author and creator of Ready, Set, Manifest!™, a guiding paradigm for people who are ready to take a leap in their lives but haven’t yet taken a step. Debbie’s private Facebook group is a place where people can get the tools and support to manage their fears and take action on their dreams.

Don’t Stop at Your Why

home-doorknobI’m a big fan of Simon Sinek’s message in his popular TED talk (Start with Why) and book by the same title. But, a lot of people start with their Why and get stuck.

The WHY is the easy part. The hard part is figuring out the WHAT and HOW.

It’s helpful to think about this in terms of vision, mission, and work plan.

Your WHY is your vision statement. It’s what you want to see in the world and/or your life. It’s the big picture that serves as the guiding light for all you do. It’s a statement that reflects what you value most, how you want to feel, and the way you want to live.

Your WHAT is your mission statement. What exactly will you do to manifest your vision? What’s the vehicle? What are the big stepping stones ahead?

Lastly, your HOW is your work plan. It’s all the work and resources that go into fulfilling your WHAT. These are the small, bite-sized action steps that you take and update along the way.

Your WHY is too important for you to get stuck on it. Create your WHAT and HOW today.

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DEBBIE LACY is the author and creator of Ready, Set, Manifest!™, a guiding paradigm for people who are ready to take a leap in their lives but haven’t yet taken a step. Debbie’s TEDxOlympia presentation, In Search of Purpose and Lunch, is a great example of her unique use of metaphors to create powerful tools for insight, action, and growth. Debbie and her husband reside outside of Seattle with their son and two dogs.