Being at a standstill typically has a negative connotation. It's associated with being stuck, not knowing which direction to go, or waiting for the next thing that hasn't come up yet... It's the complete opposite of "busy".
What I've learned, is that a standstill is a chance to stop...take a breath... and reflect on how far you've come.
A "weigh station" of sorts. A moment in time to let life, learning...everything ...catch up to you.
To observe rather than "do".
A chance to integrate all of your learning and doing and recognizing how far you are now. Taking that breath...that moment.
How about you?
Are you good at "doing"? I bet you are! The society we live in applauds doing and achieving. It's a badge of a honour. Look how busy I am... I must be important or more probably, if you're not busy then you're clearly not doing enough.
Maybe it's time to debunk the busyness myth and take some time to just be.
If you never take a moment to reflect, you're missing out on the joy of celebrating your progress and learning...
Especially if you've been working on growing your confidence. Stopping to check in, to notice how far you've come. It's funny how competence can creep up that way. That moment when you realize that you're automatically doing that thing you used to try so hard to do! There's nothing like competence to build your confidence! When you're feeling completely competent, you're automatically trusting yourself and your skills...it doesn't even cross your mind. That's confidence...a nice by-product of competence.
You know what else you can see by reflecting? Certainty...the thing that can only be seen in the rear view mirror. Seeing the many steps that came before that moment of recognition, the moment that you realize the training wheels are off and you didn't even notice.
How did that happen!?
Are you ready?
Let's get to it...
Your challenge...
What if you took some time to plan a stand still and look back at how far you've come? Especially if you're hesitating right now about something in the future you'd like to do but you're not sure how to get going.
A "planned" stand still is the perfect way to pause, reflect and remember the skills you used to get going in other situations. You can forget that you know how to do things. How to get going. You wouldn't be where you are now if you hadn't taken those historical steps, would you?
Planned standstill:
Think of a specific situation in the past where getting started was a challenge for you.
Take some time to trace back your steps to the very first one.
What had to happen for you to take that step? Frustration? Readiness? Curiosity? Boredom? Something else?
There's information here for you. How could this information be helpful to you now?
That's the gift of a planned standstill...getting information to help you here and now.
There's a Chinese proverb that says "The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step." attributed to Lao Tzu++ and nothing could be more true. Having the confidence to take that first step can be life changing. The cool thing is that the first step doesn't have to be a huge thing...you just have to start!
Want to learn more about how a few sessions with me can dramatically increase your confidence? Contact me I guarantee you'll be glad you did!
Warmly,
Ann
Are you at a standstill? Great!