It all started when the leader of my mastermind group decided that we were going to write a book about empowering women together. Each of us could choose a topic and write one chapter of the book.
Saying “yes” when I wanted to say “no”
Growing up, math was my favorite subject. I hated English, writing, and history class. Writing never came naturally to me, and I avoided it when possible. So you can imagine, when the mastermind group leader asked each of us if we wanted to participate in the book, I said, “No.”
She looked directly at me and said, “Tami, you need to do this.”
Deep down, I knew this exercise would be good for me, but I didn’t want any part of it. Being the recovering people pleaser that I am, I said, “Okay,” and I dreaded it.
I have been told by several people over the years that I should write a book about my story. However, I didn’t believe I had the ability to do that.
When fear turns into procrastination
When I’m full of fear, I tend to procrastinate. My favorite escape is sleep. I slept a lot over the next few weeks. The deadline for the first draft of my chapter was nearing, and I hadn’t even started.
Out of sheer determination, I made arrangements to go to the beach by myself for the weekend so I could focus on writing.
Saturday morning came and went. Saturday afternoon came and went, and I still could not bring myself to start writing. I was so full of fear. Instead, I decided to read a book that I had brought.
The sentence that shifted everything
It amazes me how God can speak to me even when I veer away from what I know I need to do.
That day at the beach, I started reading the book, Bounce Forward by Amy Purdy. In the fifth chapter, she said something that caused a huge breakthrough for me.
Instead of saying, “I can’t,” say, “I can learn how to…”
It suddenly occurred to me that my belief forever has been, “I can’t write.” The thought that I can learn how to write was a huge mindset shift for me. It actually gave me tremendous relief from that block!
This was the first of many breakthroughs that led me through this process. I’ll share with you more over the next several weeks.
What belief could you rewrite?
I don’t know what beliefs you have that are holding you back, but I do know we all have the capacity to learn. Maybe YOU are reading THIS at just the right time.
So today, I’ll leave you to fill in the blank:
“I can learn how to…”