Member-only story
Life 101: You Already Know What You Want
You‘re Just Waiting for Permission to Go For It
The other day a woman called me because she was burned out, miserable, ready to quit, and “didn’t know what to do.”
Then she told me she had moved to Colorado three years ago to pursue a specific degree, and had even been in touch with the program that offered the degree. She went on to say what she planned to use the degree for (creating a holistic early-childhood curriculum that is accessible to all kids), and how she saw the ways that her new skills would benefit the world.
A little nonplussed I said, “Wait, it sounds like you know exactly what to do. And by the way,” I added as someone who worked with kids for years and is strongly considering starting a family, “your vision is incredible. I want to live in the world you’re imagining.”
It turned out that, “I don’t know what to do,” was a convenient story she could tell herself to stop her from diving into a life she deserved (and that, by the way, would hugely benefit the world). The problem with her story? It wasn’t true. Nice try.
In the rhythm now, I waited patiently for the next not-true thing that was preventing her from going for it.
“I’m afraid I’ll be broke if I do this,” she said.
