Do you find yourself always trying to 'get there'? Trying to get to the place where you feel successful? To finally feel like you've arrived?
Full transparency - I'm constantly wondering these things.
Last week I spent 4 days, in the middle of the week, on vacation visiting my BFF Lauren Mundell in Colorado. We took some long 3-hour hikes, plunged into freezing cold snow melt streams, went for long walks, and had some quality girl time.
On one of our mornings, we were invited to participate in a tea meditation with my business coach John O'Connor who also lives out there.
I'll start off by saying... tea in the morning is not my thing - I'm a coffee girl. When I asked him earlier if I could drink my coffee before the Tea Meditation, he replied - not if you want the tea to do its thing. "Hmmm, what kind of tea was this?", I thought to myself with some additional trepidation and curiosity. (Spoiler alert - he didn't drug us)
I'll also admit that while I know I should do more of it, meditation is also not my thing. I have a really hard time shutting down and quieting my brain from all the noisy thoughts, ideas, to-do list items, etc.
Before we began, my coach asked me to think about where I currently felt stuck. Not one to comfortably admit my own weaknesses, I was surprised when I blurted out my answer. I told him, I’m constantly wondering. ‘When will I get there’! He nodded, told me to focus on that, and then told me we were going to sit in silence for about 6 cups of tea. (wait, what? we aren't talking thru this? I have to sit with this in silence? F*ck)
So, we closed our eyes and he began pouring tea into our bowls. Feeling super uncomfortable and squirmy, I fidgeted for a while before finding a comfortable seat. We sipped our tea, eyes closed, in silence, bowl after bowl after bowl. It wasn't until the 4th bowl that I had finally blocked most of the noise in my brain. As I placed my bowl down on the table for a refill, he spoke. We were allowed to talk through this 5th bowl which was a huge relief for me.
The rest of the meditation, I think we had one more bowl after that, felt easier and more comfortable. We finished the last bowl and went upstairs to the kitchen for breakfast and thankfully, coffee. We didn't discuss the meditation.
Fast forward to a few days later and being back home in NY, I began looking back at the videos I took during the week in order to create some content. As I watched them, I had a revelation... I AM EXACTLY WHERE I AM MEANT TO BE! I HAVE ARRIVED.
Feeling those words felt like a success. I smiled to myself. It felt good.
I started this journey as an entrepreneur for Freedom… to be able to travel when I want, take time off when I want, work from anywhere, and be able to do it comfortably.
I’m not living a luxury lifestyle. Nor do I claim to have made millions. Which I have not… if we are being honest. But the fact that I am able to feel a sense of freedom in my life, that’s MY personal success.
I get to do what I love - coach women to take their businesses and lives to the next level -and I get to do it on my own terms.
It's taken me years to get here. And let's be honest, I will continue to work towards more. More freedom, more time off, more clients I can serve and I will continue to set higher goals. I might have arrived at a place where I feel I am meant to be but my entrepreneur brain will not let me stay here very long.
As you move into the last part of this year, think about what success means to you. Reflect on where you were vs. where you are now and you might just feel how far you've come. You might just feel as though you're exactly where you are meant to be.
Let me know in the comments below how you feel about where you are now and if you've arrived or if you're still on the climb.