The Secret to Life

Just.

Show.

Up.

It's taken me nearly 40 years to finally allow this concept to sink into my soul.

Even though I've had evidence of it my entire life.

The First Example I Ignored ...

Sophomore year in HS - goofing around with my teammates on deck. Laughing about only God knows what. My coach screams, "Lauren! You're in the next heat!"

The swimmers were on their last 15yds of a 200YD IM. I had about 15s, so I haul ass toward the blocks scrambling to put on my cap, while simultaneously taking off my warmups, throwing them behind the blocks, and jumping on the block adjusting my goggles as the starter blows the whistle and launches into, "Swimmers, take your mark."

(I can feel the same rush I did then even now as I write this).

5s later I was in the water racing my heart out. And wouldn't you know!

It was the second best race I ever had in my nearly 20 year career. Dropped some 4s in the 200IM, which is saying a lot for a distance swimmer in such a short race.

The Second Example I Ignored ...

Fast forward 4 years later - sophomore year of college. The night before my last race of the season, my favorite event - 1650YD freestyle. 66 lengths of the pool - "the mile" as swimmers affectionately call it.

I kid you not, I dreamt the ENTIRE race. I felt every stroke, every turn, I could see my coaches on deck. I saw my time on the clock when I hit the wall. I even remember looking up at my parents at the end of the race with such joy and sense of accomplishment. It was the most in depth dream I've ever had.

The power that surged through me once I gained consciousness was unreal. I remember waking up thinking, "What in the literal hell was that?!" So I carried it with me throughout the day; not giving it much thought. I just let it settle in and went to the pool.

Come race time time I wasn't running to the blocks. I was fully prepared. I wasn't nervous. I wasn't anxious. I just was.

The SECOND I dove in the water my dream became reality. What I felt in my dream came to life. My body didn't have to think - it already knew what was going to happen. It was effortless. It was THE BEST race out of my entire career.

When I touched the wall, I was within THREE seconds of the time I dreamt; which equates to mere tenths of a second when you swim 66 lengths (compared to much shorter races).

I looked up at my parents and the same joy and accomplishment I felt in my unconscious surged in real life.

I bawled.

To this day, it remains the most profound and powerful moment of my life.

I didn't have to do anything. The universe had already prescribed it and sent it to my unconscious. All I had to do was bring it to life...literally - just show up.

My Biggest AHA from Both

My brain wasn't a part of either of them. In the first instance, I didn't have time to think. I was caught up in laughter and joy just before I had to haul ass not to miss my event. I had one mission - get on the block. In the second, the universe already had it under control and let me know. So I didn't worry about it. I leaned into the assurance and didn't take a minute to question it.

Putting It Into Practice Now with Full Awareness

One of the beliefs I hold so deep is that we're always in control of how we think, feel, and act to create the life that we want. Though I equally believe we're not at all in charge. What is going to happen will. We're just along for the ride; it's our job to choose the most effective energy to learn from the ride.

For me, these two moments are the epitome of the intersection of these beliefs. I turned off my brain ... chose joy, laughter, and peace over trying to jam my experiences into a specific expectation or out.

So it begs the question, where are you keeping yourself from achieving what you want just because you're allowing your brain to override the system?

How can YOU keep your brain at bay? (Because the answer will be different for all of us).