When those closest to you don't seem to support your dreams

Living Out Your Purpose Will Not Be An Easy Path

The path that chose me was not an easy or small one. It would have been so much easier to say “no thank you” I’ll pass

Financially and emotionally.

I’m nothing special that way. Your purpose never will be small or easy .....

It’s going to stretch you in every which way -

There’s the money piece of course, and that one’s obvious. And I have plenty of content on that already. I’ll leave that one today where it is.

What’s even sometimes more challenging than that, however - is how those in your world react when you start going for what you want and becoming the person who makes it happen.

From those, you know casually, to those closest to you. They’ve had a perception of you, filtered through their lens of reality, and if you're in their world BEFORE you fully step into your purpose, they have you in a place they’re emotionally, and practically comfortable with.

And when you choose to step into who you really are, there will be times you “rock the boat” of what OTHER people believe and feel ok with.

Your truth may challenge their belief system, and while it has nothing to do with you, their own triggers come up.

It may challenge what they consider their expertise and knowledge or how they view the world.

And it may also challenge their ill-informed opinions as well.

On the odd chance you may be “right”- it scares them - to the point they need to make you wrong in order to feel secure in their belief.

Instead of realizing there are no absolute “right ways” that your way is just different, it’s right for you and for those you’re meant to lead and serve on your path to your full potential.

Instead of realizing you can both be “right” for your own path.

They will make you wrong whenever they can. Not always with ill intent, though sometimes that’s there, usually they truly really feel you’re off path and want to “help”.

And sometimes, quite frankly, your growth may cause them to be practically inconvenienced when you're no longer available to do the things you once did.

And they want to bring you back to what they’re comfortable with.

• The “you” that makes them feel safe.
• The “you” that gives them relevance or importance or authority
• The “you” that doesn’t make them face their own path
• The “you” that doesn’t challenge everything they believe by how you’re now living and choosing.
• The “you” that reflects back that they aren’t fully living into their own potential and purpose.

And so yes, choosing to follow your purpose as it unfolds and taking a stand for what you believe in and desire will mean that relationships change, that people leave, or you have to leave and put distance, and it means people will talk about you, roll their eyes, sometimes belittle, and sometimes outright say some of the most inappropriate things.

But it has nothing to do with you.

===>Unless you let it stop you. <===

It’s not your growth or greatness they can’t see. It’s their own that they’ve not fully embraced

As I’ve followed the path my purpose has laid out for me, I’ve also had to navigate all of the above.

And sometimes it stings. Really BAD.

So sometimes I held back. Afraid of what people would think. And mostly afraid of what they’d say.

I believe so much in human potential, and I love to study, learn, expand and grow myself to help others. Helping and mentoring others step into their full potential has always been what’s lit me on fire. Even when I worked in corporate. Even way back when I worked at a little music store in the 1990s....and it still is.

I didn’t “choose” this path. It chose me and I said “yes”

Every. Single. Turn. Revelation. And opportunity.

And I didn’t realize all those years ago when I started taking lessons on Chip, as a hobby and fun, that I was actually being guided. Not just to horses. But to him.

That the roller coaster emotional ride of learning how to be a horseman, the fears, terror moments, pity parties, feelings of inadequacy, wanting to give up but choosing not to, and ended up building a relationship so deep, I didn’t realize how incomplete I was until he filled all those holes and completed me .......was preparing me for a bigger calling.

If I couldn’t “handle” him, how would I handle what I was called to do?

Holding space for others is not for the faint of heart. It’s a big job when people trust you with their dreams, their fears, their emotions, beliefs, wins, and disappointments. Holding their vision and potential when they don’t see it is a privilege and honor.

And as I watched this amazing horse hold that space for me, he was teaching me how to be better and do better in my work. He was showing me that by stretching in everything while scary, was fulfilling. That it was everything.

I was Chip’s first “client” and probably not an easy one. And he never gave up on me.

And somewhere it all clicked. I wasn’t meant to do this alone.

He wanted to do it with me.

And he wanted to teach me how to BE with horses because what he knew all along is that

Horses are part of my purpose.

And when I brought them together with my work, everything clicked.

My approach and beliefs about horses are not always popular and definitely go against the traditional grain.

And that’s also a huge part of my purpose.

And I know the more I speak my truth the more it will make others uncomfortable. And that is OK.

At one time I was a beginner. And those who knew me as a beginner still sometimes see me that way. My expertise was and still can be brushed off as silly “ideas” (even though they work ).

Or they assume I simply don’t know things, even the basics. And yet my formal education in horsemanship, handling & horse health far surpasses theirs.

And another crazy idea - as much as I love riding - I also love not riding.

One of the teachers I follow is Linda Kohanov and I love this quote from her

"Being fulfilled and being in a relationship with a horse, doesn't have to be about riding"

And as I’ve grown, and studied, and worked with mentors and continue to add Equine mentors who are out of the mainstream, but what they teach feels so aligned with who I am, what I believe, and how I want to be in relationship with these amazing sentient beings.

And through it all - I realize how much I still have to learn, about the mind, the universe, human behavior, and horses ...my thirst is insatiable.

===>I’ve realized the true Mastery isn’t how much you know, it’s realizing you are finally ready to learn <===

And being fully confident in its vulnerability

Those on their own path to Mastery will never criticize you.

Only those who are stuck or afraid to learn new ideas will.

Fear of other people’s opinions or losing someone’s approval or love can be REAL stopping points.

I’ve worked with a lot of people and it’s often what we work on the most. - If they go after what they really want and become who they are truly meant to be - will they lose the approval of those around them?

Those who are used to you and who need you be a particular way, will say and do things to trigger you or to get you to stay in the box they’ve painted.

It will come disguised as advice, or knowledge.

Other times it’s not disguised. It’s outright mean, or in worst-case scenarios, it can even be emotional blackmail

No one is immune from other people reacting badly.

At the end of the day though,?you?get to choose your response.

People who truly love and respect you for YOU, and not for what they want you to be - will never pull away, they will always support you even if they don’t understand it. They will never ask you to abandon your dreams or be who you aren’t just so they can feel comfortable.

Stepping into your purpose and your full authentic self is a catalyst for finding out who they are and are not.

That’s why living out your purpose can be so scary.

And why so many choose safety, settling, and mediocrity.

Don’t let that be you.

Don’t be the “YOU” that others need you to be.

Be the “YOU” that you know you were put on this earth to be.

Yes, your purpose will demand a lot of you, and it’s been given to you because you CAN handle it if you choose to.

I’m here to encourage you to choose it. To choose you.

Because what’s on the other side of the temporary discomfort is everything you ever truly wanted.

Everything you’re meant to be.

And it’s a pretty awesome spot to be?