Win What?… The Grand Prize: YOU
Last month I wrote that Tigger is my least favorite Pooh-character, true. Tigger with his big plans and grand gestures, none of which he follows through on. Of course that would get under the skin of a self-declared “do-er.” Least favorite character or not, Dude does a lot of things RIGHT! Things I could learn to embrace. So this week, I shall ditch my Rabbit-nature and take my inner-Tigger for a spin (if I can manage to get out of the parking lot!).
Lose What Exactly? Lose Yourself
Let’s Get Lost Together:
- Lose the disciplined approach. This means lose the plan. Screech!! Do I hear the distinct sound of brakes being slammed on already? Take heart, this is just trying something on to see how it feels. You don’t have to stay with it long-term. Think of this one as permission to live as you feel. Yes—Live. As. You. Feel! (I think we’re not only off the brakes now, but up-shifting pretty fast….)
- Lose the role you normally play. This is nothing more than a role you’ve assigned yourself and grown comfortable with. This role says, “I like this, and I don’t like that.” It says, “I spend my leisure time doing this, but never doing that.” If you’re anything like I am, you like what you like, and you know what you like. BUT, if you’re honest with yourself, there are many things you’ve never tried, all because your broken record bellows: I like what I like! This is who I am!! But who’s to say there’s something out there that you or I won’t like even more? Something that might help us grow in amazing and beautiful ways? Maybe grow more into the REAL YOU and the REAL ME than we ever knew possible.
- Lose the mask you don each morning. This could mean losing the mask of make-up or the clean shaven face, or deeper: the mask that hides your innermost feelings. You have an entire universe of Life inside you, wanting nothing more than to shine. Give an outward expression to the liveliness within you, and watch how you radiate. In the words of the Buddha, “Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.”
- Lose the false notion that you’re in control. Seriously. I could go on and on here. But I won’t. Remember this: When you’ve done all, stand. At which point you surrender, acknowledging you’re not in control. Give it up to the empowering Spirit within (some may refer to this as a higher power). As Mark Nepo said during our phone interview, “Surrender doesn’t mean resignation. Surrender means offering our will to flow with the currents that are larger than us.”
- Lose your adult-like tendencies. Re-read Winnie The Pooh, The Little Prince, The Velveteen Rabbit. See the wisdom and Truth in the genuine, simple, meaningful stories. With child-like eyes, see how losing your adult-like tendencies leads to understanding others in a new and fresh, compassionate way.
- Lose caring what others think of you. Frankly, it’s none of your business. This one goes hand-in-hand with don Miguel Ruiz’s second agreement: Don’t Take Anything Personally. It’s not about you, it’s always about the other person, so stop placing your energy in places it doesn’t belong. Free yourself from the burden here, there’s no burden necessary.
- Lose the constant questions. Stop asking Why. Stop asking How. And stop asking What’s the use? They all show a lack of trust. It’s fine to try to better understand an issue or to approach a problem at work in a strategic way; what I’m suggesting here is to lose the questions in matters of the heart. Feel what you feel. That is enough.
There’s a time and place for each of these seven—I‘m not suggesting you lose them forever-and-ever-Amen, just give them a spin and see how you feel.
Regain Your Power
Once you give yourself permission to lose… lose the rigidity, lose the constant rules, lose the incessant planning and demands, YOU WIN. Notice how freeing it feels to lose each of these, how some may be easier to lose than you thought. And notice this—there’s something all seven have in common (glance back at #7 for a hint). Yes, in order to lose any one of these, you must first trust yourself. How empowering. In trusting yourself, you’re trusting in something higher: