Marvelous. It’s already working!

I’ve had notes from a number of you expressing this general sentiment. So many notes that I thought we should talk about it.

Let’s take these emotions in turn: first the excitement, then the terror.

The excitement is impulse. But not impulse the way we normally mean it, like dysfunctionally impulsive behavior. That excitement you feel when you come across a Challenge like our 10 Day Writing Challenge for Conscious Leaders is the kind of impulse that happens when you get a glimpse of something that will lead you to what you desire, deep down in your spirit.

I believe that a lot of what we desire, we desire because it resonates with something way down deep. The excitement, the impulse, you get when you’re given this sort of Challenge like a spiritual breadcrumb on the path to what you really desire and who you really are.

To be clear, I’m not talking about desires like, say, a Tesla or a ring. I’m talking about deeper desires than that. I believe the things we are spiritually encoded to desire the most are to give love, to receive love, and to live a life of meaning.

My whole life changed when I started consistently paying attention to these kinds of impulses and started letting myself follow the paths to these deep desires. I don’t follow every single inkling or urge, but I do try to honor and give some attention to those that trigger a deep twinge of something that feels like resonance with who I really am or what I really want.

To do that, I had to (gradually) train myself out of the thought habit of immediately countering these desires. I had to stop focusing my energy on the internal struggle and start investing it in doing the work of following these impulses.

In the olden days, I’d have an impulse that felt like it might be the first step of something possibly major. Then my immediate next thought would be to counter that impulse with fear, with all the reasons why I can’t/shouldn’t follow that path. Does that ever happen to you?

I still did some big, glorious things in my life. But this internal dialogue made them harder, fewer and farther between than they needed to be. It led to years of playing a smaller game than I’m here for.

The idea that I don’t have time to tend these little spiritual bonfires was a go-to line of mine for years. And I’ve heard it a lot from those of you who hesitate to commit to this Challenge.

But I practiced my way out of it. And I invite you to take the challenge as as an opportunity to practice your way out of it, too. Trust me. I’m a busy chick. But It’s very rare that that “I don’t have time” even occurs to me anymore when I’m facing an impulse or project that I feel like might be an important part of my journey. And when it does, I’m very sweet and compassionate with myself as a I note the “no time” thought, then choose instead to focus on speeding that makes me feel expansive and aligned and just GOOD.

I’m committed to making time to follow the sparks that have proven over time to keep my soul stoked, my spirit open, my creativity and emotional groundedness flowing. Even if I have to stop doing some other, less critical thing.

I see Challenges as powerful little micro-seasons for growth and breakthroughs. I do them in lots of areas of my life, most often self-directed/DIY. They allow me to try on a practice or a habit or a new way of being, for a finite, manageable period of time. Sometimes, I like the practice and keep it, or some element of it. Other times, not. But even if I don’t integrate it into my daily routine for the long term, I’ll usually have made some sort of progress on a project or an issue in my life in the process of trying it on. Or I connect some new dots, or have some clear idea or insight, in the course of the Challenge that I wouldn’t otherwise have experienced.

The other thing about Challenges is that they’re just FUN. I think of them as growth games for grownups. In a Challenge, you can try on a new practice or way of being on without a death grip or terror because hey, guess what – YOU chose to do it and you are the boss of your own Challenge. It’s between you and you.

That POV allows me to take on Challenges with a spirit of both play and excellence. And that makes me feel proud and energized and engaged and alive during and after the Challenge.

Okay, so what about the horror part. It’s what Steven Pressfield calls Resistance. We’ll talk about that a lot more in the actual Challenge.

For now, it’s important to know that this Resistance is simply a habit. It’s a thought habit. You can rewire it. Doing Challenges, when the stakes are low, can be an early step toward rewiring yourself into freedom from Resistance, or at least into the consistent new habit of overriding Resistance when it arises.

I’ve heard a number of variations of fear in the “I want to do it but am afraid to do it” notes a few brave souls have sent me. And I’ve given various corresponding forms of advice, in these one-on-one conversations:

• Failure isn’t a thing here. What happens if you only write for 2 or 5 days of the Challenge? You’ve written for 2 or 5 days more next month than you did last month. Seems like a net positive to me!
• This is your Challenge. You can do it while you’re traveling, or you can take it as a 5 or 7 day challenge or whatever you need to do. If you want a breakthrough, try to do something every day. But you get to define success here.
• The more consistent you are, the more progress you’ll make. But you know what? If you have a day where all you can write is a single sentence? I hereby give you official permission to count that as a win.
• If you’re doing this to get clear or set goals, you might not need as much writing as 750 words x 10 days. You might have clarity on day 4. If you’re trying to experience a real shift or trigger clarity or flow, you might have your breakthrough on day 7. Or you might need to keep writing until day 49 or day 99. That remains to be seen, so it’s a good thing you’re getting started!
• If you want to write a book, you can use this Challenge to “turn pro.” 750 words a day is probably what you need to do, and consistency matters. I’ll hold your hand. Trust me when I say that you can do this.

Obviously, which advice is right for you depends on your situation.

But what I’m about to say now applies to everyone.

This is a growth experience. There’s a reason they call them growing pains. If I were challenging you to do something you already were doing or already had the capacity to do or was super super easy to do, there wouldn’t be any growth potential in it.

Game design guru Jane McGonigal speaks and writes a lot about why games (including Challenges, IMO) are so engaging than reality, including something she calls Hard Fun:

“If there’s anything I’ve learned as a game designer, it’s that the hard part is the fun part. We need a good challenge to have fun, to feel alive, to unleash our strengths, to turn strangers into teammates and allies. This is why we play games – sports, videogames, all games. We play them because nothing makes us happier or stronger than tackling a tough challenge that we choose for ourselves.”

If you’re both excited and terrified at the prospect of this Writing Challenge, again, you’re doing it right. It’s already working. I want to invite you to see that as a sign that you’re in the right place, and that signing up is the right thing to do.

But I also want to invite you to have a little shift of state and spirit around it. Yes, this is a Challenge. Yes, it’ll be challenging. Yes, you might see some scary things inside and be challenged to make some changes that are even more scary. Or not. But in any event, remember that you are choosing this Challenge for yourself.

It doesn’t have to be hard. It doesn’t have to be terrifying. You can decide not to be a martyr to the Challenge. Try easy. Go easy on yourself. Be light and playful with this project. Allow for the possibility that your challenge will be a fun, exciting adventure into new territory, inner and behaviorally.

I see your bravery, and respect you for it. Let’s do this. Our Challenge begins MONDAY, JUNE 9TH, 2018. It’ll cost you nothing but a little time and more spirit and soul. Here’s the sign-up link.