Last Thursday, Kevin called me at 12:10pm and asked if I could facilitate a meditation for 500 people at the Worktech conference at 1:15pm. Kevin had addressed the same crowd that morning, and an opportunity had come up for a second set which he couldn’t do. I was at home at the time, slowly working my way through my long ‘to-do’ list and was completely caught off guard. My initial reaction: “No way”! I spent the next 5 minutes whinging why I ‘couldn’t’. The truth? The voice in my head told me I wasn’t good enough.
Do you know the voice? It’s that broken record inside of your head. The one that continuously commentates on everything you see, think, and do throughout the day. Often it can turn nasty and get in the way of your ability to express yourself and act out your true potential.
Before I started meditating, I wasn’t even aware that there was a little voice inside of my head. Let alone that I was separate to it. But the longer I meditated, the more I began to observe these thoughts and associated feelings as mere electrochemical reactions and physiological sensations and the more I realised that I didn’t have to listen to them. I could create a commitment that was bigger than that little voice and I could identify myself with that commitment over any other lousy conversation inside of my head.
Over the years, I have grown stronger and more resilient, and now, although the voice is certainly still there, I know it’s not the real me. The real me is someone who is on a mission to empower people to be inspired by their own true greatness and freed up to share it with the world. The real me eventually bit my tongue last Thursday, said “yes – I’ll be there”, got myself dressed and jumped in an Uber to the convention centre.
Our challenge for you this week is to start to notice the little voice inside of your head and to identify it’s favourite self-limiting phrase. Then explore the question: ‘what am I really committed to in life’? Share your discoveries with the people around you, and if you are willing, we’d love you to reply and share them with us! For more conversations like this one, come on our upcoming Here and Now Retreat: 4-7th April.
