Be Real with Your Expertise - Journal Exercise

How do I move into realness after all these years of trying so hard to prove myself, impress people and accomplish something great.

I got so worked up about achieving greatness, owning my power, unleashing my mighty spirit on the universe.

And then, there are my feet, grounded in the dirt. I come up and gaze at the horizon of the desert and remember who I am.

I play dress up with pigtails and lime green boots and stick my tongue out at myself in the mirror. There you are, old friend.

All this packaging to appear like I know what I’m talking about, to convince people to buy into what I’m trying desperately to believe in doing.

Take out the pens and turn the page.

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At the top I write:
BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED, MASTER.

Beneath each title I list my skills, passions, hobbies, professions. I can’t fool anybody now when I lay it out honestly like this. I see clearly what qualifies me into each category.

As a beginner I am training, studying, investing in teachers, absorbing, receiving, seeking. I am a naïve sponge.

As an intermediate I am practicing, creating, experimenting, putting in my hours, building a portfolio and connections with others. I am strengthening my discipline, steady, showing up consistently.

As an advance I am offering and teaching, leading, selling, charging high prices, serving my clients.

As a master, I am mentoring, passing on, leaving a legacy, redefining, leading evolution.

For each activity, organized in this fashion, I can show up with clarity as to the stage I am at, the way I can contribute wholeheartedly with integrity, measure growth, understand the steps for progression ahead of me, fall in line with others on my path, accept the many passions I enjoy and see how they each take a place in my life; holding a different spot on the progression of skills I’m collecting. I’m a beginning at one as I’m becoming a master of another.

This is a reality check I’ve needed for years. So eager to jump to master. It’s a massive relief to settle into the steps of this path, embracing the earlier stages of the journey. The rush hurts us. Slow down and be where you are. The steps each day, small and simple, move us towards master in good time. The only question is what steps are you taking and are you choosing the steps that bring you greatest happiness?