New Beginnings
Hello, hello! If you found your way here, welcome! (If you are my sister and reading this to be supportive, hey sister! You’re welcome here, too.)
I must admit, I am so nervous to finally hit “publish” and make this website public to the world. So many self-defeating thoughts are running through my head: What if I sound dumb? What if no one wants to work with us? What if someone thinks I’m crazy for thinking I could do this?
I have to believe, though, that I am not alone in feeling afraid at the idea of doing something new.
It’s scary to put yourself out there. It takes vulnerability and courage, and it also requires being able to skillfully ignore those voices inside your own head that want to knock you down or hold you back from making a change in your life.
I’m reminded of a metaphor from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a mindfulness-based approach to change, that might seem simple (because it kind of is!), but I find really helpful in moments like these.
It goes a little something like this: Imagine you’re a bus driver. As you’re going about your day driving around, you consider turning off the same old road you’ve been driving on to shake things up and go on an adventure. Unfortunately for you, your bus is full of rude passengers (or should I say, thoughts in your head) who tell you that you’re crazy for wanting to explore, or that you’re doomed to fail, or that you’ll never succeed so why bother trying, blah blah blah. If you listen to these passengers, you’re stuck driving in an endless loop, feeling more and more dejected and stuck. Once you realize that they’re just noisy and annoying, but that you’re actually the one driving the bus, you’re free to ignore them and head off on your adventure.
It might seem silly, but you know what? It’s also silly (and destructive) to let ourselves be controlled by our negative thoughts, and to hold ourselves back from growing out of fear. So, let’s go!
If you really want to see something silly, watch this video of that ACT metaphor set to animation.