Most Told Me I Was Crazy

Most Told Me I Was Crazy 

I had a friend call me a while back and say “You did what many of us wanted to and didn’t.” This person honored me with their call because many believe it is impossible to follow and achieve a dream.

I started my business, Edge Of Change, a little over 8 years ago in a time when the financial economy in the USA was very uncertain. I had a very good job that many people told me I was crazy to leave. But I still followed my dream to be a business owner that could create and make a difference. I believed in myself so I did it. Have there been ups and downs along the way .. OH HELL Yeah! And, it is still my dream.

One year ago my husband and I sold 98% of everything we owned, got an RV and hit the road. I remember being so excited. I told everybody. Many were excited for me, and there were many that again thought we were crazy. One young woman’s response to me was “WOW, how irresponsible.” I thought to myself “Really, am I being irresponsible?” I had not thought about it that way at all and then I smiled and thought “GREAT!! I am ok with that”.

I have learned… Sometimes when we step out of the norm it seems a bit crazy but it is what is needed to create and achieve the impossible; or at least what others see as impossible.

I also learned it is much easier to do the impossible when you surround yourself with positive support and community.

So how about you? What is your impossible dream? What must you do to achieve your dream that others most likely will think is crazy?

I am asking you to question the impossible so you can achieve what you really want. 

It most likely won’t be as scary as it seems. Everything you’re worried about happening, won’t.

It might seem intimidating—putting yourself out there, taking the chance, doing something new, going all in, showing up, asking for help, connecting with strangers, and, ultimately, gambling your ego and everything you know to be true. There will be a lot of resistance that pulls you in other directions to stay small, curl up and stay comfortable.

You may ask yourself “Why make the effort when I do not have to?”

The thing about comfort zones, however, is that they’re only comfortable for so long. The longer you stay in them, the more uncomfortable they become. And sometimes, the best form of comfort comes in knowing that you don’t need it anymore.

I encourage you to find relief through uncertainty.

Welcome to the edge!

Corinne McElroy CPCC, ORSC

The New Adventure

When people ask me what are you up to these days?  I say, we’re packing, sorting, taking a few things to storage and packing the RV and getting ready to take to the road on our new adventure…

The different responses have been interesting from WOW that is exciting, to really why would you want to do that.

This Thursday we are turning the keys of our home over to the Estate Sale Company that will be handling our estate sale. We are pretty much selling off 95% of everything we own and they want us out of the house to set everything up.

Mike and I with our dog and cat will be staying in our RV while they are setting up for the big sale, which is the 11th and 12th of June.

After the sale we will come back into the house for the cleanup and getting her, the house, looking all wonderful for the walk through by the new owners (yes we sold the house) on the 15th.  The house closes on the 17th.

The new owners are renting us back the house until July 6th which is wonderful because our daughter will be getting married on June 26th… YES, through all of this we have the wedding.

So we’re back into the house on the 14th to clean up and also to set up for family to come in town for the wedding.  Since everything will be gone we will be using blow up beds, folding tables and chairs… Sure glad the family is being very understanding.

WOW… When I say it out loud and write it out I have to take a big breath and calm myself down because the emotional roller coaster can really take me for a ride.

Mike and I both are really starting to go into the” BUT WHAT IF’s” mode as we are going through the final things in the house in preparation for it all…

Remember the Steve Martin movie; I think it was called The Jerk, where he walks around the house saying all I need is this chair and this lamp? That is what it is starting to feel like.

Mike will say; BUT what if we need this (holding up some kind of tool) and then I do it with; BUT what if I need this (holding up something that has to do with my painting stuff, cooking or work)

I know in my head that the “BUT WHAT IF’S” will do two things… One, have us question if we REALLY will need it, also I know that the “BUT WHAT IF’S” can keep us from what is possible!

I am reminding myself that “AND if” I really need it I can pick it up somewhere out there on the road where ever we are.  BUT I tell ya, it is NOT easy when I am on the emotional roller coaster.

Knowing our WHY we want to do this is keeping us going through the up’s and down’s.

Mike and I are truly at the Edge Of Change and believe me we are getting to remind each other to use every tool we have in our tool belt…

It is all good and it reminds me that when we learn new things, regardless of what they are, it is hypothetical until we get to apply the learning and then it truly can become knowledge .

As our new journey in life unfolds and takes place you will be hearing more and more about what is happening in hopes to share on a deeper and more meaningfully connection to ourselves, to each other and to you.

The Emotions that Come with Change

When an external event happens that causes a shift in your world, you also have an internal response.

With external change, we internally may experience a whirlwind of emotions. Regardless of the circumstance, your first reaction may included feelings such as vulnerability, uncertainty, anxiety or fear.

If you feel it is an negative change, you may experience emotions such as disbelief, anger, sadness or panic.

There are also changes that we look forward to such as a new relationship, a promotion, feeling accepted or a new baby in the family, that bring about more positive emotions such as expectancy, excitement, acknowledgment, freedom and anticipation.

Whether the circumstance is voluntary or involuntary, positive or negative, we will have an internal response to our external event.

When you experience change, remember to acknowledge your internal responses whatever they are and accept them as a normal part of the process.

To your success and happiness,

Corinne

The Flip Side of Change

I have been guilty of it too many times to count. When I am working on a tough, deeply personal goal that involves changing something about myself, I tend to get wrapped up in my own challenges. After all, it is my struggle. Nobody else can experience the frustrations or victories I feel in my pursuit of this goal, yet I know that everyone will feel the benefits of my success. Whether I am working on creating a successful business, earning a promotion or breaking a bad habit, I am motivated by the thought of creating a better life for the people I love. Chances are, you too get stuck in this train of thought too. Unfortunately, this focus on our own quest to achieve a goal often proves to be the one thing that prevents us from achieving it, and that’s because like everything else in life, personal growth cannot happen in a vacuum.

As we all know, personal growth involves getting outside of our comfort zone. We have to get out on the skinny branches in order to achieve something new and we can sometimes become blind to other people when we are busy charting a new course. Our focus on getting out of our own comfort zone makes us forget the flip side of this – that our comfort zone has become a part of the comfort zones of other people and we probably forgot to ask them to step out of their comfort zone with us. For example, when my daughters were young I started to lose weight. As a person who has struggled with weight most of my life this was a huge accomplishment for me and I was feeling fabulous. Then my youngest told me that I didn’t feel like mommy anymore and I started to believe that my husband wouldn’t like the thinner me either. I had lost a number of bonding activities with my girlfriends as I had been spending more time at the gym than I had with them and it suddenly felt like achieving this goal wasn’t worth everything I felt myself to be losing. So I gained back the weight, and some extra, and now I still have the goal of getting to a healthier weight and the guilt of a previous failure along with it. Additionally, I know that my loved ones would have loved the new me anyway.

Over the years of coaching I have seen many other people quit on their goals for the same reason I did. Fear that the achievement of it would come at too high of a cost, a fear that can only infect our thinking when we have forgotten to invite others into our change process. We need to recognize that our personal decision to change will make other people have to change too. They have to change their reactions to our behaviors, their estimation of us and they have to redefine themselves in relation to us.

Understanding this before and during our growth process makes the achievement of our goals exponentially easier. By thinking about the impact we have on others and asking them to join us in our quest to be a better person we simultaneously accomplish two things. We have shown the respect to those in our lives by inviting them in and we have created a support system for us as we start to climb our own Mt. Everest.

Coaches Challenge:

Whatever your mountain is think of everyone who you want at the summit with you. What considerations do you need to give them as you start your change process and how can you enlist them in the process? What concessions do you have to make for others to be a part of your team? Remember that the involvement of those that love you will be the one thing that makes achieving your goal possible.