Living Daringly in 2018

My word for 2018 is Dare

I settled on dare as although I’m not a shrinking violet by any stretch of the imagination.  I still have some fears.  Mostly these are fears about investing in ‘me’.  I started a business last year and haven’t invested in things like a website or business cards, because of some fairly limiting beliefs. 

I left full time employment as a manager of a youth centre.  I had experienced a recurrence in a disability that had been in remission for over a decade.  I had not had the support I needed and felt pressured into quitting when I moved from front line services to do a desk job.

I was successful in gaining part-time employment working as a job coach with young people with learning disabilities.  It’s a job I adore and gives me a lot of satisfaction.  It also helped me become a little bit braver.  When my disability reoccurred I began to play it safe.  I was experiencing seizures and I was using the Access to Work scheme to get taxis to work.  For a time it was a life safer, it kept me physically safe.  However, it also began to shrink my world. I was only going to work or out when I had a friend or family member to act as a ‘minder’. 

So during this time to beliefs began to form. Firstly that I wasn’t safe and secondly I began to feel guilty that my earning potential had decreased.  This manifested in the fear of investing in ‘me’ and my business. 

I am confident that by choosing Dare as my word of the year I can release these fears.  I have spent some time this week journaling about how this word will manifest in my life so that I can live, more daringly.

1. I will release my fears around safety; I travel most places by public transport.  This may not sound super sexy or exciting, but believe me when you find yourself practically housebound a disability bus pass is like a magic carpet.  I have better seizure control which helps, but also I realised that the risk of having a seizure out is no higher than having a seizure at home.  I’ve got a seizure app on my phone and I tell people where I’m going and my ETA, so if I go missing in action I can be tracked.

2. I will give myself permission to invest in myself.  I have enough abundance in my life.  If I build a website my family really aren’t going to starve.  I will also enhance my prospects if I better advertise myself and my services.  In all areas of my life I will give myself permission to act I only need my own consent.

3. I will start now.  I will not wait until all my ducks are in a row.  So often we procrastinate because we feel that everything has to be perfect before we act.  Last year I started blogging with my friend Sue Allsworth from Authentic Smile.  We didn’t know exactly what we were doing.  We were learning as we went.  We generally did one take without any editing.  What we did do is have a lot of fun while we explored how it worked. 

4.  I will break out of my comfort zone.  I’ve always known this is where growth and happiness happens.  I would never have left youth work.  It took being pushed out and being incredibly unhappy to make me take a leap of faith.  I love the work I do now and I love running my own business, groups and circles.

5. Finally I will surround myself with daring, fearless and valiant hearted people.  Nothing helps you cultivate boldness and audacity like having people who inspire you with their actions and attitudes.  People who rise to a challenge, seek out new experiences support you to do the same.