#participate

A couple of years ago I was in Miami for a coaching conference.

The night before it began, there was a little “mixer” in the hotel bar, and in typical Alex fashion, I walked into the huge room full of people I didn’t know, smiled and looked around for about 35 awkward, uncomfortable seconds, then quietly slipped out the door and beelined back to my hotel room, where I immediately put on my pajamas and climbed into bed to read.

No big deal, I figured; large social gatherings where I’m expected to make small talk with complete strangers is a hit or miss scene for me, and that night, it was a miss. It happens.

The next morning, I was recounting the situation with a laugh when something a colleague said stopped me in my tracks, potentially changing the way I show up in my life from here forward:

​“But what’s the point if you don’t #participate?” ​

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You could have knocked me over with a feather.

She was of course referring to the time and expense that went into traveling across the country for the conference, but in that moment it was like her words bounced off every nook and cranny of my life, and the wheels in my head started turning: what IS the point if I’m not going to #participate.

We each have one precious, short life, and it’s up to us to get in there and make something of it, isn’t it? No one else gets to hold the reigns - we are the masters of our destiny.

What do you want your life to look like? Are you making choices right now that reflect that?

If we don’t #participate in the creation of our life experience, we risk ending up with an inauthentic path, and very few things feel worse than going through motions that do nothing to ignite your soul’s spark.

After all, true aliveness will not tolerate complacency.

I vowed to pour my heart and soul into the rest of that conference; I would practice going all in, showing up for myself in nerve-wracking ways, and leading with my vulnerability. I decided to trust that my fear of looking or sounding foolish was actually reason to stay still, rather than run in the other direction as fast as I could.

Essentially, I decided to feel the fear, and #participate anyway.

It ended up being a mind-blowingly transformational week that peeled away layers of my insecurities,  allowing me space to release old beliefs, and taking me closer to my vision of what I want my life to look like.

Had I chosen to stay small that week - to sit in the back row, to sneak out for a bathroom break each time we were asked to work in pairs, to bolt back up to my room immediately when a session ended - I would have missed all of that, and ladies, that would have been a real shame.  

Everything you dream for yourself is 100% within your reach, my love. This week, I challenge you to choose (and share!) one way you will intentionally #participate in the creation of your life.

I can’t wait to be inspired by you!

xo,

Coach Alex