The Question That Changed My Life

I hired my first life coach after a breakup. I felt like something was off in my life. I met with Kathryn for over a year as we talked through different challenges.

At one point, we were talking about my personal goals and aspirations. I mused it would be cool if I could be a coach like her, but I could never do that. She seemed so natural at it, and I didn’t have a natural gift. Besides, I was always busy and I’d never have the time. And I wasn’t great as a personal trainer so I bet I'd fail as a coach.

I had reason after reason why I couldn't do this.

Then my coach asked The Big Question: “But what if you can?”

I had never thought of that before. I had so many reasons why I couldn’t and it was like a door opened and a whoosh of new thoughts and ideas came pouring in.

I thought of what it would mean to me if I could do it. I could make an impact in people’s lives. I could make a living doing something I loved. I could inspire myself to grow. I could have a lot of fun.

And that one question switched my brain from impossible to maybe it’s possible. It switched my thinking from “I can’t” to “how could I?”

Our brain’s default mode is to keep us safe. And safe means never taking any risks. The first answer to everything is “I can’t.” Because your brain’s job is to make sure you stay alive. Anything perceived as a risk seems too risky to the brain.

But when we never risk anything, we stay in our small bubble. We never see how great life can be. We never grow from challenges or expand beyond where we are right now. And that’s fine, if you never want any more than what you have right now.

But if you want more money, better health, or better relationships there will be risk involved. You will have to grow beyond where you are right now.

Even though your voice of fear might be saying “I can’t”, what could it look like if “I could”? Give your dreams some air and explore what it would be like if you could.

I would love to hear about your dreams. Hit reply and share them with me.

Better yet, hit forward and send this to a friend who needs a little extra inspiration. Share the love and inspiration and let’s explore together what could be possible.