It was the very first night, and I expected some kinks. Would the chat window work? Would the conversation flow? Would anyone even show up?
OMG I was so nervous!
And then, someone arrived! Someone really came to the chat! It was Chris! And immediately I felt happy. We chatted a bit and I admitted to being a bundle of nerves. She comforted me with her wise, beautiful words,
“You’re spreading love and light as always, so it will flow as it needs to for people to benefit.”
No judgement. No criticism. Only generous, kind support. I felt myself breathe.
And then, Michael popped in! And I was super thrilled! And HE offered an amazing message of support,
I hope this gets huge and we’re all learning to be awesome from each other, I know each of you have skills that the other doesn’t and hopefully we can all learn from each other.
And then a few more familiar “faces” popped in. And I was stoked. Folks introduced themselves. We bantered a bit. We gave people a chance to arrive….
After about 20 minutes, it seemed like the time had come for me to try to explain why I had invited everyone there that night, and, although still having trouble putting it into words, I gave it my best shot,
I invited y’all to this chat tonight because …Well, I think that while Social Media is amazing, it just feels like there’s something ….Missing?
And the COMMIT TO AWESOME chat commenced.
And
Then.
The Magic.
These people, who had just moments before been strangers, were now talking like long lost friends; connecting, working together, going deep. We posed questions for ourselves and each-other,
Why don’t we celebrate the small steps that are getting us where we need to be, and celebrate and enjoy the journey?
I don’t know if I’m guarding myself , or if I’m trying to keep myself hidden from others?
If we are still holding onto our weight, we should ask ourselves what is the weight doing for us?
We revealed ourselves,
I have stupidly high standards for ME and no one else, so of course I can’t live up to them.
I still hide behind my weight-curtain… I miss all of those networking events and meetup events.
I can intellectually tell you everything I need to do or control, but emotionally there is no helping me.
I’m going to be honest, the only issue I have never been able to overcome, has been losing weight. EVERYTHING ELSE, I’ve been able to do..
We shared,
I aim too low. Always working below my intelligence level, then frustrated with the stupidity around me. Like, corporate stupidity,
I feel like I’m under a microscope all the time.
MAYBE people are judging a little less than we THINK they are? I used to worry all the time if my appearance was okay, at work, out on the town, in my own house all by myself…and one day I realized. ‘WOW, If everyone else is as worried as I am, not many people are judging. and if they are, they suck, so why should I care?’
We inspired,
Why not try? We are only limited by our own thoughts and perceptions
[Tweet This]Unless you deal with the emotions behind xyz than you are setting yourself up for failure. Anyone can do something amazing temporary. It’s when we are able to confront our issues and be willing to resolve them that we will see lasting change ~Meg [Tweet This]
We make time for the professional because it benefits us. We don’t make time for the healthier stuff because it’s HARD and we don’t prioritize ourselves like we do our careers. Any thing worth doing takes time. ~Chris [Tweet This]
And there was camaraderie that came from the a repeated, resounding chorus of,
“Yes! that is exactly how I feel!”
We ended the night with brainstorming pro-active steps to overcome our barriers,
- Accountabili-Buddies
- Therapy
- A warm, loving environment
- Trainers
- Hypnotherapy
- Life coaching
- “Someone to accept me for me”
- Acupuncture
- Gym buddies
- Affirmations
- Group classes and workout groups
- Eating Disorder groups and O.A.
- A CommitToAwesome accountability group in Facebook. Where you check in and post what’s new and good and you achieved for the day
- Meetup Groups
- Being more present: allowing yourself to be in the moment. “For example, when you step out of your car take a deep breath in. Take in the air, the sky, the happenings. For that one moment you are totally present. Do it throughout the day. Just stop what you are doing and become totally aware of you.”
And finally, sharing one simple goal for the week. Little things: drinking water, going to bed by 11:00pm, bringing meals to work instead of stopping by Starbucks.
Because it takes baby steps, one day at a time.
Next up, we’ll be checking in on each-others’ progress for the week. And I’m working on finding a good tool where we can share at the CommitToAwesome website like the old-school #ProjectAwesome spreadsheet, back in the day. (I used googledocs at the time, but it would be nice to have a more integrated solution so we can have a true homebase).
Anyway, lots of good stuff on the horizon.
So please stay tuned!
Just like us, it’s a work-in-progress…
