Letting Go
By Maneke
“The Choice Is Pretty Simple: Keep Letting Fear Sidetrack You, Or Take What You’ve Been Given, Maybe Even Told From God Above, And Say ‘Yes’.”
I am Empowered & Poised enough to let go of my fear of the unknown and just DO IT. In 2017, I started on my quest of letting go of things that were stopping me from uttering the ever so heavy word, yes. As an introvert, natural homebody, and total non-risk taker, I spent my time researching and planning before making a move on just about everything in my life. Most times I would over analyze to the point of no action. To me, things had to be just right to work out well. I figured I could reduce any risk or stress on myself if I just planned accordingly. It also did not help that I was a paid planner as a Project Manager. My day job entailed planning, mitigating risks. and outlining the best processes to follow. I even received a certification in my field to help solidify my top-notch planning skills. However, what I was not doing was living my best life. I was not mitigating risks but saying no to anything that took me out of my comfort zone or tuned down things that really challenged me. I was going day-to-day in a circle of routine tasks.
Get up. Go to work. Get off work. Cook something or figure out what to cook. Clean something. Run a kid to an activity. Come home and go to bed. Get up and repeat the cycle the next day. I considered it a perfect day if I could sit for hours and binge watch a new Netflix series or finally watch a movie that I had missed in the theatre. I know it’s slightly depressing.I was happy with just sitting still. While I was blessed to have my family and a job that used my skills I knew there had to be more. This was no way to live. Turning 40 made me take account of my life and realize that I was not where I wanted to be, and if I was totally honest, I was not going to be based on the planning path I was accustomed to following. Something had to change. I had to change. So the journey of change began. Over the last two years I have had the most significant personal transformation of my life, not in the physical kind of way that can be seen by others,but in the most intimate way I have ever experienced. What I didn’t realize then that I can see so clearly now is I was stagnant and not living fully alive as God wanted me to live. While I am still on this journey, I can see the great strides I have made all from the simple response of “Yes."
Yes, I am open to trying something new. I am still fearful of the unknown, but I now trust myself and God enough to press on. I still plan, but not to the point of analysis paralysis. I look at new opportunities as a way to grow, evolve, and to try something totally foreign to me. I don’t have to have all the answers, nor do I have to figure out all the steps ahead of time. However, now I can move forward with a comfortable yes, knowing that I will learn as I go. I can lean on my support system for help, or at any time I can make a different choice, and that is ok too.
I have said “Yes” to several new things, and I am so happy that I did. I am taking my volunteer work to the next level as a new Advisory Board Member with a local youth program through the YMCA. I am using my passion for creating and empowering women through a new business, Nourish + Soul. I am even headed out of the country for the first time this year to help celebrate the birthday of a new friend. I am so grateful for how all of these opportunities have challenged me. They have helped me find my passion. They have helped me realize that I am more capable than I realized. Also, it is OK not to know all the answers before saying yes to something unknown. They have helped me improve my self-esteem. Moreover, I believe the most significant change is that they have made my life so much more fulfilling.
I am Empowered & Poised because I can look fear in the face and say, “Bring it! I’m doing it anyway”.
