Dead ends are new beginnings

I hope you know that a thousand failures are the building blocks of your becoming.

I hope you are not dissuaded by dead ends... I hope you know that it is the courage to keep beginning that ultimately gets us all to where we are meant to be.

-Brianna Wiest

I think I read this quote over 20 times this morning…

And it got me thinking that while it doesn’t really ever FEEL good, it is far too easy to give up.

It is far too easy to run from the commitment it takes to embody our dreams.

But what happens when we give up… when we run?

We stagnate. We identify with the past and we remain locked in our comfort zone- a zone often outside of our true desires.

Here’s an example from my 22 year old self:

“I want to be a writer”… my conscious desires said.

Yet, my critical mind replied:

“That’s not safe. That’s irresponsible. Why would you think you can do that? That’s nice, but you you know dreams don't really come true like that."

I now understand this part of the mind as the one filtering the desire based on my subconscious programs (motivation).

So I chose the path already paved… that of being a teacher… a path that reflected my passion for literature, writing, analysis, and social justice. A path that was safe. A path that mirrored the two generations before me. A path I knew wasn’t my calling, but a path that fit a secure mold, stamped with approval.

And while that path was not aligned with my soul, it DID offer me many “failures” aka “learnings” that nudged me closer to my dream, the building blocks to where I found myself two decades later.… burned out and viscerally aware of not only the dead end, but also the opportunity to begin again.

I get to begin again.

Reflecting on those two decades, it’s clear to me that the soft voice within, the wise knowing part, never stopped to remind me of my dreams nor did it cease to drum up my vision. It is this wisdom that always tells us to “keep going.”

And even better, to “keep beginning.”

Keep beginning affirms that we are no longer our past. We choose to be the truth- the now version, new and open.

Those of us who struggle with affirming our value, defer to playing small, hiding, pleasing, or waiting for the “right time” to pursue the life we desire, may be overlooking our inherent courage to always begin again.

Years of messages (stories, lies) from yourself or other conditioning about your role, your identity, and your value have shaped a sense of yourself you likely feel imprisoned by.

Such powerful messaging has reinforced connections in the brain shaped by thoughts on thoughts on thoughts, grooves and neural pathways that are emotionally charged and powerfully associated in the subconscious mind as safe and secure, protecting what is KNOWN and FAMILIAR. This is your comfort zone. This is the arena to break free from and swim in the uncertain waters of vulnerability and pure potential.

Likely, if these words are resonating with you, you're feeling the burden, the heaviness of that armor of protection.

And you know it’s time to wake up to your own greatness in being YOU.

So, writing this email today is brought to you by this courage to "keep beginning."

Even when it feels sticky and impossible to see and feel into yourself outside of past conditioning... it’s a bold practice to keep beginning, to align with this now time, and to trust it carries you "to where [you] are meant to be."

Courage needs room, expansion, unencumbered by the stalemates of the past and lit up by vision.

Courage defies our comforts, invites discomfort, ignites our intuition, and picks us up through every stumbling block.

“Ultimately it is on our vulnerability that we depend.”

-- Rainer Maria Rilke

Courage relies on vulnerability, on leaning into our humanness and allowing our “failures” to become our greatest teachers, our signposts of alignment, our signals of what we can let go of, refine, and recommit to.

Keep beginning

Keep beginning

Keep beginning

When we choose to identify with our own courage and our raw and authentic energy we offer this world, we give ourselves space to shine.

Match your energy to this determination, and you’ll allow dead-ends to reroute your vision, challenge your expectations, and ultimately awaken you to an unlimited terrain of possibility.

Getting where you are meant to be requires courage, found in the heart. As Brené Brown shares:

The Latin word cor is the root of the word "courage" and means "heart". In its earliest form, "courage" meant "to speak one's mind by telling all one's heart. Courage is a heart word. Be brave. Love hard."

LOVE HARD, shedding the lies and rewriting the stories about your inherent worth.

Courage is found in OWNING your greatness, RECLAIMING your voice, and ASSERTING that YOU are sovereign –no one else gets to direct your life – it has always been you.

Stretch open. Get messy. LOVE the process of reclaiming, let your voice shake if it must to release the stickiness of fear holding you back, let your body pulse with the inspired energy of courage crushing the blocks on your path.

This is your precious life. Embrace your awakening.

Always beginning, the grip of the past softens, the weight of our fear lifts, and we keep going… always… keep going anew anew anew.

Discover the freedom in reclaiming your sovereignty and live your dream.