I want to share a big secret with you: You cannot make a mistake! Take a moment to let that sink in.
Wow! What if that were really true? How would you feel? Take a moment and take a deep breath and close your eyes and FEEL what that would feel like.
Maybe you feel relieved and free. Maybe you feel unburdened and feel a little bubble of happiness rising within you. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could feel like that all the time? YAAASSS! That would be awesome!
Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could feel like that all the time?
Okay, so I’m guessing that by now the cavalry is thundering into your consciousness, bringing that little Napoleonic voice into your head and it’s saying, “Whooooaaa! Not so fast there! Of course, you’re tremendously flawed and it’s ridiculous to think that you cannot make a mistake. You made a dozen mistakes yesterday alone!”
Next, thank the little voice for stating its opinion. Yes, OPINION! That’s just what the little voice is sharing with you. It is not the authority on your truth. That little voice was developed to protect you back when you were a little baby and were learning about how to get along in this chaotic and imperfect world.
Every time something happened where you experienced an unpleasant effect, that little person in your head (“the voice”) took note of what happened and jotted that down as a “rule” that needed to be watched for and heeded in order to keep you safe.
When the little person started making the rules it had the intellect of a baby.
There are a couple problems with that situation. First, when the little person started making the rules it had the intellect of a baby. Being a baby, it would sometimes misconstrue situations and assume that you had caused the outcome when in fact, it was caused by something else entirely. This resulted in you creating and following a rule, perhaps for decades, based on false assumptions.
Secondly, rules that were appropriate for you as a child may no longer be appropriate for you as an adult, but most of us are not aware of these “rules” and we rarely check the rule book to see if the “rules” need to be updated. Therefore, the little voice keeps sending messages that you are making mistakes and you’re not doing it “right” – whatever “it” is.
This results in you feeling “guilty” or “wrong” or “imperfect” and you may not even realize why. It may be the faulty rules that our little person has been holding us to rather than us making mistakes or being wrong.
That little voice is very persistent and the next volley may be something like, “The world has made rules that you need to follow to live a successful life. You’re on that path and you must stay on that path. Period.” What a little tyrant that voice is! Again, thank the little voice for its OPINION.
The future is unwritten and if you’re here on earth right now, you’re part of it and you’re invited to write your part.
You (wonderful, unique you) are on this earth for a reason and that reason is to be YOU! People who are unapologetically themselves tend to be the ones we are drawn to the most. They are authentic, quirky, imperfect, joyful and interesting, maybe they are afraid, but they go forward anyway.
The future is unwritten and if you’re here on earth right now, you’re part of it and you’re invited to write your part. There’s absolutely no one in a position to judge whether your contribution is “good enough” or “right”. Even people who think they know what’s right can’t see the big picture of why YOU are here, what you have to contribute and what YOUR whole entire life story looks like.
You’re writing your own story, make it a good one by putting your whole self into it! The rest of us are waiting for your authentic contribution to this world. And remember you can’t make a mistake!
