“Rising” to the challenge in the moments when we would rather hide or collapse or become invisible1/12/2015 Have you noticed, that often not long after we start out on what seems to be an exciting new role, a new project, or new opportunity we seem to run head long into unanticipated challenges. The excitement of the new beginning is quickly followed by frustration. If you’re like me, you will try everything in your toolbox of tricks and yet sometimes even with all this effort the difficulties still persist.
What I have come to realise is that when nothing seems to work and we have tried everything that we can think of and more, it’s a good indication that the road blocks won’t be solved by your current way of dealing with things. This is the point where we often start to doubt ourselves, secretly questioning if we have what it takes. Sometimes we blame others, and other times we put it down to bad luck, or life simply being unfair. This is also the point where many of us give up. In the past I would never have thought to call these experiences an initiation. Yet this is precisely what they are. You see initiations are tipping points marking transitions or significant turning points in our lives that ultimately alter our perceptions and thinking. They are rites of passage, a crossing, a moving between two worlds. They signify the potential for transformation and the potential to be 'reborn' into a new role or a new way of being. What I have found is that viewing our series of challenges from this light moves us beyond the positon of feeling like a victim of circumstance to a much more powerful position of consciously choosing to embrace what we want to grow into. This also enables us to tap into our own potential for growth. When we can think about the challenges like that, as being part of an initiation we can engage with them as a series of initiating events. Each challenge then becomes an opportunity to grow and to lift our capacity to the next level. Initiations are also opportunities to become wiser, more compassionate, more skilful, more of who we want to be and more of what we are truly capable of and less like unfortunate victims. From this stand point, instead of shrinking from the challenges and the pain, we can work with them as opportunities. From this place we are committing ourselves to “rise” to the challenge in the moments when we would rather hide, collapse, or become invisible. When we can commit ourselves to learning and growth in this way we open ourselves up to make space in our lives to act and think in new ways, ways that can enhance our capacity to learn, to change, and to try new things with sense of openness and curiosity. The more we can embrace our challenges from this standpoint the more we empower ourselves to embrace the opportunities in our lives and the more we can access and trust the vast potential that exists within us. When we finally have that role or opportunity that we have worked so hard for, this is precisely where we want to be. “Rising” to the challenge and making space to act and think in new ways, ways that can enhance our capacity to learn and dig deep into our potential. Then our series of initiating challenges become a sacred rite of passage. Originally published on LinkedIn Article by Maureen Owen – Coach, Facilitator, Organisational Development Consultant I work with people to create momentum and to reclaim their responses to the challenges they are grappling with, helping them to move towards what they truly want.
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