You are not a ground hog

Ever thought to yourself - Haven’t I learnt this already?

Ever said:

I thought I had conquered public speaking & presentations. Why am I nervous? Why am I doing that thing I do when I’m scared?

I thought I had tamed the dating rejection devil, put myself out there. Why does it sting coming from this person? Why am I worried about how it will go, now?

I thought I as comfy introducing myself to strangers & giving my “elevator pitch”. Why is my mouth dry today? Why did I stumble through it with this group of people?

I know I conquered that self-doubt monster that kept me from publicly sharing my writing. Why am I obsessed with making this piece perfect? Why am I so worried what people will think, again?

Can you relate?

The thing is, it’s not the EXACT same lesson/monster. You have actually leveled up since the last time you faced this lesson/monster. The audience size or topic importance has increased; quality of your dating pool has improved; you’ve got a new elevator pitch; or this writing is edgier than your other pieces. Something is different than last time. You are different.

“So you think you can dance?”

It seems like there are a million talent shows. We watch the contestants challenge themselves & push themselves to be better.

Most people, myself included, aren’t surprised to be given harder assignments at work when we’ve proved ourselves. We’re not surprised when people sign up for a half marathon after finishing a 5K. We’re not surprised when they pursue a Master’s degree upon completion of their Bachelor’s. We’re not surprised when they add 10lbs to the barbell.

And yet, we think it’s weird that our beliefs & values might be tested in similar fashion. Or, we don’t think of them in this way, do we?

What if you could? What if this lesson or monster was not a problem? What if life is a bit like those crazy talent shows & this is just proof you haven’t been eliminated yet? We don’t typically give people calculus exams before they’ve taken algebra. What if this lesson/monster is the calculus exam for our beliefs & values because we’ve (finally) mastered the algebra version?