Meeting the Stretch: Stepping into New Arenas of the Unknown

Have you ever said yes to something that sounded doable and realistic until you step into it and see how much bigger the “opportunity” is from the other side of the door? Oh my!

Or have you ever agreed to do something initially and later ask yourself “what the heck was I thinking to say yes to this?”

Welcome to my world of stretching towards the stars! I typically don’t go looking for these growth opportunities but feel more like I was tricked into the stretch when I fail to ask questions before I make a commitment. I call it stretchy in terms of pushing me beyond my comfort zone.  Typically, there may be a lot of stress in the lead up to stepping into a new space or acquiring a new skill and yet once on the other side, you will feel the reward of an increase in self-measure from the impact of personal growth.  

Here are some of the resilience tips I can offer for those times you find yourself in a stretchy new space of the unknown with a steep learning curve and a deadline.

• Keep following your practices to stay centered and connected to your womb for the sisters and your gut for the brothers. Breathe deeply and often those slow deep breaths into your core that keep your stress hormones at bay.
• Self-Care is essential to eat and sleep well and nourish yourself with walks or exercise, so you don’t burn out or experience an emotional meltdown. You will also impact your health if you run yourself down during stressful events.
• Use your resources! What help can you pull from? Who is there that you can delegate to or consult with? Who is on your team? Autonomy is self-governance, not self-reliance. You don’t need to carry the load all by yourself. Invite the energy of others to contribute to the stretch. They will grow along beside you with co-empowerment.
• Allow the mistakes to happen as learning opportunities. Fear of making mistakes will keep you from taking action.
• Really have integrity with your open heart-to-heart communication. Clear communication with the others on your team is essential. When things derail, talk about it, connect together, and find a solution. Clean up conflicts with others even though it feels vulnerable. You want to create cohesion on your team, not discord.  
• Most importantly, be ready to pivot to plan B or C. Be spontaneous and ready to shift gears if needed to meet the energy in the space and to conserve your energy.
• Align with the Principle of Minimum Effort with Maximum Efficiency; resistance will create exhaustion if you keep pushing and striving towards the outcome you desire based on your expectations. Be curious and accept how things unfold without judgement. Trust the process of what is created when you stay resilient and focused while dancing in the energy of new arenas beyond your comfort zone.
• Final Step: always debrief what went well and what can be done even better next time with your team to harvest and integrate the personal learning and leadership gains.