Past- The Importance of Listening to Your Body
On May 1st, 2019, I left a real estate startup that I was involved with for just short of two years. I had fully committed myself to this company. I had worked seven days a week for almost two years, giving the company and my clients everything I had. In the last couple of months, before I finally left, I realized I had nothing left to give. The company was my priority. I put my clients first, and I put my public speaking, life coaching, and healing work on the back burner. I only did a few speaking gigs over those past two years, and the coaching & healing sessions performed were far and few between.
In those last couple of months, I was running on empty, on fumes. Always consumed by drama with the company, I was on an emotional roller coaster that would elevate my heart rate daily. Even though I was still continually facilitating miracles with my real estate clients, the fulfillment waned. One of the reasons it took me so long to leave the company was my love for my clients. I couldn't imagine leaving them in the dust with someone who didn't care for them the way I did.
What started me on the journey with this company was the vision, the big dream. I was so excited to be a part of something so impactful in other countries — enticed by the enthusiasm of the people running the company and their commitment to our greatness.
Have you ever jumped into the unknown because of excitement?
Excitement provides quite the rush and it is how many sales happen. My friends and family were trying to persuade me to choose a different path, and I felt they didn't understand. In fact, within a couple of weeks of starting this position, I left my boyfriend of a year. I no longer felt he had my back, and I most definitely didn't receive any support from him with my new company. You want to feel warm, cozy, and supported when in a partnership, right? Sometimes it's time to take note and shift gears, whether it's you or the both of you, when these feelings are no longer there. Part of the body intelligence mechanism is knowing your capacity, your limits and using the body for discernment when making decisions.
During my time at this company, I built protective walls around me regarding the backlash of others, and I thrived on the internal excitement of the company and my clients. They loved their experience with the company, and they loved their experience with me. My clients fueled me until I no longer felt valued, and my tank of energy and love went empty. In the beginning, I was a significant part of the creative process. In the end, everything I shared seemed to fall upon deaf ears.
On May 1st, 2019, I began a relationship that is still evolving quite beautifully. I had shut one door, and another opened. It's like I only had the energy for one relationship during my time at the company, and the relationship was the company. That was ok, and the experience still served me well. I left with many positive outcomes as well, such as lessons, phenomenal friends, and loads of experience I wouldn't have gotten elsewhere at a startup.
One day, I visited one of my best friends, an influencer and conscientious mural artist, Ruben Rojas. As I sat on his couch in his art studio, he pulled the heartstrings right out of my chest, tears popping and all. I believe I was sharing about some of the healing work I had recently done with some cancer clients, and then he asked me "How could you possibly support healing others when you're running on empty, living a life not aligned to your truth?" My response was that when I was doing healing and coaching sessions, I was tingling from head to toe and was filled back up with revitalized energy. When I was living my truth and purpose, my body turned into vibrating electricity.
One of my previous coaches used to share with me "You, Bethany, are the electricity that others plug into to shine their eternal light." It's so true. I physically experience this feeling inside. I feel the tingles when I'm preparing a talk, when I'm creating a workshop, as I write this book, when I am sharing a message from my heart with others, and when I'm doing coaching sessions.
When you are tingling inside, you are light, being in your truth. You are living your purpose, and most likely, in an experience of creating. I've found that people are happiest when they are in a creative process. We are all the light for each other, and sometimes we need to take a cloth and dust off the scum that’s filtering it from shining its brightest! We are meant to live a life of joy and love. Following your happiness will allow you to lead a bliss-filled life. You are so worthy of this experience, always.
So when I jumped into that real estate company, I no longer could do the other things that I had previously been working on, such as writing this book, creating art, and coaching. I took a hiatus from everything I had been working on to jump ship into the unknown. Did I question my decisions? No. I jumped in regardless of discernment because I was so excited about this vision. I don't have any regrets. A lot of new knowledge was granted through working with this company.
As I left Ruben’s art studio, I had committed to him that by the end of the month, I would finish the first draft of my book. This passion project, which started almost four years ago, was more than 75% done! Nearly finished, yet apparently, I had been no longer inspired to finish it during those past two years. Jumping aboard this last company shifted me away from my vision of purpose. And that's okay, it was part of my journey.
Looking back, I can see how I allowed a vision to lead me, which is very powerful; however, it was not my vision, it was someone else's.
Whose vision are you living right now?
Do you feel the need for recalibration?
It's terrific if you are supporting someone else's vision, as long as it coincides with yours as well. We will soon be addressing useful tools for aligning the two.
When I first said yes to becoming part of the startup, I wonder if I had checked my gut feeling and my body. Honestly, I don't remember. Excitement can be like a hypnotic drug and a phenomenal one at times. I believe following joy is the way to win with life. When you're not feeling it, something gets to shift.
When you are feeling frustrated, angry, disappointed, or upset - you are not in alignment. Think of a bad day: did you feel as though something was off? It was. You were not aligned. When in alignment, life flows effortlessly. You could be closer to living a life of bliss and joy. Not that the frustrations won’t come, but you’ll know how to navigate them and not allow them to weigh you down. These adverse experiences are great, as they expose you to the awareness that you are not in your truth. My goal is to get you to only the best days; and when you find yourself feeling off, you’ll be able to acknowledge it and come back to these practices and align to your truth.
My truth found me at that real estate company, and it served me well. I gained some valuable knowledge on getting a company and culture aligned to a vision. I gained some long-lasting friendships. The joy was compelling and kept me going. When the pleasure left, and the knowledge was earned, it was time for me to pivot away. I had allowed myself to be swallowed by it all and eventually found the frustration overbearing. It was all perfect harmony outside of the fact that I could have chosen to leave about six months sooner.
Checking in with your body daily and utilizing the tools we will be learning together will keep you present and in momentum, instead of losing months of precious time, like I did. I was sitting in a roller coaster of chaos and frustration. Can you relate? I’m sure you’ve been there, but hopefully not for months.
At the beginning of working with the company, everything felt expansive; towards the end, it was a constrictive experience. Metaphorically, it was choking me alive, and I sensed it. Yes, my body was talking to me! Interestingly enough, I traded a coaching session with an exceptional healer, now a friend of mine, Alex Mei, who at the time knew nothing about where I worked during our first session together. He asked about my job, sensing it was a vampire sucking my blood out to thrive on. I gave my resignation notice within weeks of this appointment. The point is: start noticing what you're experiencing within your body as you're taking in every moment of your day.
How are you doing?
Is what you're up to every day making your body feel light and joyful about life?
I'm now back to allowing my body to guide me, it appears that I had taken a two-year hiatus-I didn’t. I was only listening to the details that I was willing to grasp at that moment. Selective listening! I wasn't paying attention to the overarching veil of weight that was lying on top of me, bringing me down.
Friends were there for me, listening to my frustrations. I've always known that when I'm frustrated, digging my heels into the ground, I get to shift! My friends and clients always ask me what my gut says. Usually, I rhetorically ask them the same thing. What does your body say?
When I feel frustrated or have what feels like a bad day, I know there is a lesson to learn or somewhere else to shift. Bad days illuminate the deeper spaces we can delve into, learning about what’s creating the situation and then change to a new experience. You can also ignore bad feelings, knowing tomorrow that is a better day if you choose, yet the situation may repeat itself soon. There's no need to get mad at bad days, simply step into the NOW. Become inquisitive and let the guidance unfold.
Get ready for new days and ways of being; step into a space of curiosity instead of disgust. You are at the beginning of a bold journey towards body enlightenment. First, let's dive into clearing the chaos and dirt so that you may be reborn, with a new foundation. Then, you'll learn to allow your body to lead the way. Give it a voice. It's ready in the NOW. Let's remove the dust from your light so you may shine with the wisdom of trees and their wondrous beauty.