About three nights ago, I was on a flimsy dinghy with Greg, trying to get to the other side of the river while the monstrous gray heads of great white sharks bobbed up all around the boat....waiting. We finally made it to shore safely and I wanted to kiss the sand.
Greg, much less perturbed, turned to me and mentioned he'd really like to go to a good bar that night that was on another island, but that this time we'd have to swim across because someone else needed the boat.
I was flabbergasted! SWIM????? Did he not see the sharks?? He said he did but thought we could get across safely. That's when I realized he expected me to go with, just to get to a bar for heaven's sake, and I lectured him on the craziness of doing something so foolish when we have small kids.....and awoke.
Thus you see my subconscious is not fully on board with the new business plan and will need some wooing;-).
I think the dream was telling on several points. My life for the past five years or so has been literally and figuratively, safely on shore. I was teaching part-time in an area that I know well. I had time to garden, to visit friends, and to read. My stress levels were pretty low. And part of me is questioning why I would leave the shore.
The fact Greg wanted us to head back into the water to visit a bar is also telling. A bar is a pretty superfluous destination; no one needs to get to a bar. And a part of me questions taking on the risks of a new business when we have a good "safe" income and could simply keep saving and putting money aside for our eventual FI date.
So why go into the water?
As usual, Oprah gets this one. She had a show that I wrote about earlier on going outside your box and taking risks and chances to become more of who you can become. To grow as a person is valuable. Taking on new, sometimes scary tasks lets you know that you are more than you thought you were. And I loved her idea of getting a charm bracelet and giving yourself a charm for each time you really did something that took courage, something so personal and different to each of us, that only we can decide whether an act is "charm worthy".
This past week I attended the entrepreneurs conference and felt out of my comfort zone, worried about looking foolish. Then I attended a women in business event and really felt out of my zone as I only knew one woman at the event and mixing and introducing myself is SO not something that comes naturally to me. I did meet one new person, spent a fair amount of time standing about feeling a bit foolish and then scurried home. Greg asked how it went and I told him I considered even that a success as the first few times you do anything, it's pretty hard.
While I might not have done any one "charm" worthy thing yet, if I do seven more of these little things, I think that first silver bauble will be headed to my wrist. I dug out my old charm bracelet from when I was a kid as inspiration.
If you too like jewelry and stretching yourself, and wonder if it's time to get out of some sort of rut or box you're in, come and join me in this year's journey. If we all put our minds together and draw from each other's experiences and ideas, perhaps we can even get out of the shark-infested water and just build a bridge to the other side.... Best wishes! Eileen
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