As I look around the room, I see a lot of powerful people – a lot of capable people. I see hearts and minds, goals and aspirations, wishes and dreams.
And typically, we build our lives and businesses by getting clear on what we want and then working hard to achieve it. We’ve all heard expressions like “Dream big!” And, “Everything is possible!” And these ideas are great. But they are related to our upper limits. Raising our ceiling, so to speak.
Today, I want to have a different conversation. What becomes possible when we raise our floor?
We all have our version of excuse or rationalization. We all know how to let ourselves off the hook at times. And I want to be clear, this is a judgment free zone. It’s totally normal to relate to our circumstances as real. It really does feel like time and money are in limited quantities at times. Or we’re tired or overwhelmed.
But what if rather than relating to these things as real, we were able to see that they were simply choices – simply the way we created our lives and businesses. What if we could actually have it go differently?
Consider what becomes possible when we take away the permission to show up as anything less than our best. In other words, imagine how life and business might go if self care and productive action were as normal as getting dressed in the morning. We wouldn’t leave our homes without clothes on. Yet, we let ourselves miss sleep, or meals, or taking the actions we said we would to grow our businesses.
What if we put down the push-pull, and related to these things as non-negotiable? What if, from complete and total ownership, our license to complain, blame, “phone it in,” kick the can and procrastinate, was revoked. What if we no longer made excuses, and had nothing to explain away or defend?
Can you hear the power in that?
Remember, there’s no judgment or criticism here. And there’s nothing inherently wrong. Just an opportunity to shift how we relate to ourselves and how we operate.
It’s so tempting to abdicate our power and put the locus of control outside of us. To point our fingers over there and throw up our hands. I’m inviting us to own it like the bosses we are.
This room is filled with passion, compassion, and brilliance. We have everything we need to get to where we want to go. Really get that it’s not a matter of if, but when. All we have to do is choose it.
Stand up today and ask for what you need. And as you travel through your day today, do what you can to raise your floor and choose in service of your highest and best self. It’s who we really are, and what is worthy of us.
