Pause For Reflection: Going Out of Your Comfort Zone

It was only a few years ago that I was one of three parents trying to feed an entire gymnasium of families dinner. This insanely hectic experience created the story in my mind where I told myself “I have no interest in being a parent volunteer ever again”. As I had told many of you in the past, I was "planning on steering clear of the parent advisory committee" and I certainly had no intention of helping fund raise.

Even the word, fundraising, sends shivers down most people’s spines, it did to me as well. But less than a year ago, that story changed for me. I had a shift in perspective. I found clarity about enjoying the journey and not only my journey but participating in the journey on behalf of others.  Let me explain, it’s a bit of a long story, but bear with me, because I hope you will appreciate my thought process by the end.

I have a history of a lack mindset and in the past few years I have been seeking to undo this. To attract, or rather, recognize the abundance around me. This is what led me to fundraising (and this is just a small piece of a bigger shift that is occurring!). I, like many of us, grew up learning that money was scarce, hard to come by and you had to work hard for it. “Money doesn’t grow on trees” they said. Recently, I learned that I didn’t have to keep believing these statements, that maybe there was another way of thinking about money, an abundant way, rather than with lack. I won’t get into the details of that here, but in my search for a new understanding, I found myself really paying attention to my thoughts, really listening to how I talk to myself in my mind, and really paying attention to how my thoughts made me feel.

I discovered that any desire I had always felt the best when the inspiration for that desire first emerged. Those first few hours or days when it was all just a dream and those good feeling thoughts could rise to the surface without any resistance or reality setting in. If the desire came to be, then all the better, but really it wasn’t the acquisition of something new that was exciting, it was just the moment when the inspiration came, that felt so good! Those were the moments I needed to have and keep having, to continue to improve my overall energy state.

It was about this same time when I found clarity on enjoying the journey, that the fundraising position was announced at our school. Honestly, if it had been a week earlier, I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but suddenly it was an opportunity. A golden opportunity. If I was no longer attached to the outcome, the money raised, or how it was spent, I could focus my energy on what I now considered the best part, the journey! The inspiration and taking inspired action would energize me and I could just let the money flow through me so to speak. With excitement I convinced Alex to join me, and well, here we are, nine months later, after feeding breakfast to another gymnasium full of families and this time with an abundance of volunteers.

Taking on the role as co-fundraising coordinator has been such an amazing journey and it’s only been a short period of time. I write this now in reflection of the weekend past, and the months leading up to it. The inspirations that came, the frustrations and clarity that I found along the way but mostly the sense of satisfaction. The feelings of satisfaction that I felt on Sunday as everything seem to fall into place. It was a moment of peace and it affirms for me that the energy and time I’ve put into paying attention to my thoughts and my feelings over these past few years have really “payed off” for me. I am a powerful creator as we all are powerful creators. If I can, so can you.

It hasn’t all been easy and dreamy and I don’t entirely know what I am doing most of the time. Sometimes I ask for help or advice, and I am working on getting better at this, but often, I just go where the energy of inspiration leads me. It is sort of a force all its own and I trust it more than much else these days. The teacher’s appreciation lunch was a good example of this. I had no clue really where to begin, but I knew that a potluck was something I wasn’t comfortable coordinating. I’ve always had anxiety about what to bring to a potluck, so never mind trying to organize one! But thanks to Alex and to Pinterest the idea of a large charcuterie board came into focus. This I could visualize, which made it exciting and then almost manic in my mind, thinking of how it could all come together. That is the feeling I love, the inspiration and the passion coming together to really energize me. It all made sense, the feeling of appreciation and amazement I wanted the staff to feel. The ease of a lot of parents making a small donation to create a huge meal. And then it happened. The feedback blew me away as people spoke the words that I felt in my intention.

The resistance for me is in doing what is expected, in what has already been done. Even the Santa’s Breakfast was daunting at first, as it was another unknown. But as I started to imagine it and dream a little here and there, first about the decor and then about a mini tree auction, the excitement grew. How could I shift the pressure to give, off of the parents and share it with the community? Most importantly, I wanted it to be a moment that the children would take pride in and remember. I had to check my mindset every step of the way. I had to trust that the donations would come in, I had to trust that we would have enough food, I had to trust that the volunteers would come and I had to trust that people would show up. I had to trust that it would all work out and that I could only be prepared to expect the unexpected. I didn’t know if I had it within me energetically to rise to this occasion. Maybe I was in shock, but as it all just started happening around me, I can remember feeling so calm and peaceful. It was truly remarkable to see so many people giving their time and energy to make it all work, beautifully.

I can’t deny that my son wishes that next year we will be able to enjoy the morning together more. This was the unexpected that I didn’t know I expected, but also something I take full responsibility for. Just as when anything doesn’t go as planned, I have to take responsibility first, before ever blaming anyone else. This is where the greatest lessons are, in those moments that really push against who you think you are. They push against those stories that your ego tells to protect you from the unknown. That is where you are, waiting to find more of who you truly are, out there, beyond your comfort zone.

#transparency #lack #abundance #mindset #inspiration #energy #pauseforreflection #collections #fundraising #checkyourego #whatisyourstory #outofyourcomfortzone #somuchiswaitingforyou