“Come see!” My older sister Deb grabbed my hand and pulled me. We stopped right next to the door.
She dropped my hand and leaned into the wall and stretched up, and up, and her tallest finger touched the light switch, and the light came on!
Magic! Turning on the light is real power!
We were peas in a pod, just nineteen months apart, she was just a little taller, and just a little more grown up. I wanted to be Deb. Because I was too small, and still so helpless. Jealousy ate me up!
I leaned into the wall and stretched up as high as I could reach. And it wasn’t enough. I could not reach the switch. I held my breath and stood on my toes just like a ballerina, and I could not reach the switch. I tried again, and my toes hurt and I got dizzy holding my breath stretching, and still, I could not. I felt hopeless and helpless.
“I can’t. She can, and I can’t.”
NEGATIVE SELF-TALK
Somehow this got stuck in my identity. “She can, and I can’t.”As I grew and learned more, this litany still hummed in the background music of my self-talk.
What is this? How do I shift this?
Because the truth is, now I can turn on the light. All by myself. Anytime I want. I can, because I grew into it.
What does it take to change our theme song? We must go from, “I can’t, I’m not good enough, I don’t know enough. I just can’t.” To one of “I keep trying and I will grow to one who can.”
POWER IN CELEBRATION
One of the keys is celebration. And, not just any celebration. Sharing our growth and truly being seen by at least one other person.
Internal motivation to do something different is often hampered by our inner narrative of hopeless and helpless.
The power of a witness to support us and remind us of our accomplishments so far is immeasurable. We don’t see our growth. But others can.
This is the magic of a team of three. Because having two witnesses to our greatness is somehow more than doubly wonderful.
POWER IN AN EPIC QUEST
One of the keys of what we do in an Epic Quest is to celebrate the tracking instead of the doing.
Mostly because that is where transformation occurs.
It is in the daily practice of necessary skills that we learn new things.
One action, repeated daily, will keep us on the road to our goal.
Often when we reach our goal in the dailiness of our lives, we often blow right past it into even greater accomplishments.
