We have all had that feeling when our cortisol spikes...our body goes into fight or flight...our blood runs cold...and we just want to RUN!
Run to a place far, far away. Where we don't have to "face the music". Where we can avoid discomfort. Where we can numb the heart flutters...quiet the voices...become invisible...
A place where we are hopeful the issue at hand will, by some miracle, disappear.
But what happens when we don't run?
What happens when we...
...have the uncomfortable conversations.
...sit with our anxiety.
...confront our addictions.
...ask the hard questions.
...plant our two feet and face the problem...head...on...
In a generation where we can...
...hide behind keyboards and phone screens,
...numb with drugs and alcohol,
...avoid,
...distract,
..filter, or cover up...
...we are surrounded by avenues and options to run, or hide, from being uncomfortable...from reality.
But what happens when we choose courage over comfort? When we actually seek the discomfort? When we lean into, and embrace it.
We grow. We learn. We evolve. By consciously subjecting ourselves to the discomfort we are conditioning ourselves to become resilient. We learn to soothe our nervous system...and then we are able to listen...to process...and to respond from a place of truth.
Yes, it is uncomfortable. Your heart will race...your palms will sweat...you'll hear the whisper in your ear...telling you to "run".
But instead you...
...draw your sword,
...harness your Power,
...push yourself.
And with every experience you...grow.
I was a chronic runner, and now I prefer "recovering runner"(#workinprogress). I would do anything to avoid feeling that yucky feeling. That is...until I started to live with that yucky feeling...ALL. THE. TIME!
Ah, yes..the Universe's notorious cruel and unusual way of nudging me onto the right path...compelling me to grow the fuck up.
Of course I had to push myself...
...to have the hard conversations,
...to ask for help,
...to commit,
...to sit with my grief, my sadness, my anger...my shame,
...to face my flaws, and to love them.
Here's the kicker. The real plot twist. Are you ready???
I didn't die... *mic. drop*
Even though Anxiety whispered in my ear..."run"...
I decided to trust. Trust life. Trust myself. And in doing so, the voices of fear...of anxiety...of doubt...all began to hush. I am capable of doing tough shit. I can face my fears.
And, I will be OK. In fact, I will be better than OK!
So perhaps we do in fact run. But rather than run away. We run...
Wide
Fucking
Open
...into our deepest, darkest fears.
And WIN!
Xo, Shannon