At the start of this year, I was feeling the pressure of trying to do everything right. It really creeps up on me from time to time and in the past has paralyzed me. Ever felt that prison?
Knowing you, I suspect you have. In your strivings to meet all the needs of those you love and those you have responsibility to, it can feel like you are walking a tightrope.
At the beginning of this year, I decided to give myself permission to make mistakes. The idea of that even set me free. Now I knew it would require a deeper humility and greater depth with God but I realized THAT was the only way to grow. It was either (1) keep my world small and controlled and in my comfort zone or (2) allow God to expand my world and step out in faith which was going to be imperfect, messy and humbling, giving up control and making mistakes in full view of my now expanded world.
I felt and feel God offering me that choice again even now…
“Julie, which choice are you going to make?”
“Small, controlled, low risk, low impact, comfort zone living, within your protected little world attempting to keep everything neat and orderly, the image of having it all together trying to maneuver outcomes?”
OR
“Surrender, give up control, willing to be messy, higher risk, exposed, allowing your gaps to be seen publicly, stepping into an uncomfortable growth zone living, and ultimately I (God) determine the impact and the outcome?”
“Which will it be, my daughter?”
Well, I absolutely detest walking the tightrope in pursuit of perfectionism and people-pleasing. I literally feel like I am suffocating in that space. So I guess that answers the question. I must again give myself permission to make mistakes in order to embrace the choice God is giving me now AND GROW.
How about you?
Are you being strangled by trying to keep it all together when you know you are being called to a more expansive place?
Oh, the struggles we women endure trying to play it safe, look good and please others…it’s exhausting.
So I invite you to join me and give yourself permission to make mistakes for the remainder of this year. I invite you to open your mind and heart, try some new things, take some risks and maybe even invest in yourself to grow. We’ve all had enough lockdown, haven’t we? I invite your spirit to soar with mine. And along the way, I have decided to look at each mistake as another giant step forward getting me where I want to go and God is taking me.
Think about it…..Who could you become? Where could you go? What could you attempt and possibly even accomplish if you did not fear making mistakes?
Consider this your permission slip. 😄
Stay tuned to see the amazing lineup of all we are going to attempt this year with this “mistakes welcome” attitude. I admit, it feels a little unnerving, but I really see no other way. And it feels so good to be set free. Won’t you join me?
Cheers to our collective mistakes!
PS: Check out today’s Vision Talk with Maggie Shih as she shares how she embraced a willingness to make mistakes and parlayed her love for travel, entrepreneurship, making a dent in poverty, learning about other cultures and her faith to help establish an essential oils farm in Zambia. You’ll hear about her journey as a serial entrepreneur and what Maggie has cast her sights on now. We are very excited to share what she plans next.
Catch the replay in the Reinvent Your Life FB Group.
If you haven’t registered yet for Vision Talks, click here to get reminders of our upcoming sessions.
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