Scott Lee: Things we need to embrace

Scott Lee

UNCERTAINTY; rejection; struggle. These are three things we can all find challenging, but three things I know can ultimately make us happiest and help us reach the places we want to go in our lives.

They represent the costs of change and, at times, it's not cheap, but when we choose to accept change in our life, and not see change as something that happens to us, we feel happier and freer.

How do I know this? I have spent the past two years exploring who I am and going through massive change to be able to live a life of my choosing, and all of these things have been present.

I was a regional manager at a bank and I defined myself by my job, by my car and by where I lived. In hindsight, they meant nothing. Because I am a dad, a partner, a teacher and a lover of the sea, learning and serving others and I did not fully know this prior to leaving my job. What I have learned is:

-Uncertainty stops us from chasing what it is we love to do. It holds us back, because "What if?" What if I get it wrong, what if I fail, what if I no longer have a regular pay cheque?

That might be hard, and it can be, but it's also very rewarding - it's the challenge that helps us grow the most.

-Fear of rejection also holds us back. Our friends might say "Why are you doing that?", "That will never work" or "You're only thinking about yourself".

If Walt Disney had stopped after a few rejections, we would not have Disney now - he had 302 rejections before someone said yes to funding his dream.

-The struggle is, "How do I keep going when it doesn't look like I am going to make it?", 'How do I put in all the hours that are required to make this change work?" and "What will happen when I get there?"

After leaving the bank, I immersed myself in learning, about who I am, where I wanted to go and what worked for me as a way of being.

Some of this learning involved books, online courses and videos, going to all the free courses I could find, trying things I had never tried before and losing money putting it into practice.

I lost most of my savings during this time, a lot of money, but oh so worth it, because I now know who I am, what I want to do and how I want to do it.

I have been through the uncertainty, not knowing where I was going, been through the rejection, mainly from myself - "Why are you doing this?" "You're failing!" - and I've been through the struggle, especially those quiet times when no one else is around and you are left with only your mind to talk to - and how your mind does talk.

I now show others how to move through change, how to allow the uncertainty, the rejection and the struggle to flow through us and not cripple us. Because uncertainty, rejection and struggle will always be in my life and everyone's life.

It's what we choose to do that will determine whether we lean into the change or push the change away.

The keys to leaning into the change include:

-Spending time in nature, enjoying a walk or the sound of the birds in the trees, enjoying the moment, knowing it's okay right now and everything will work out in the end.

-Taking a few deep breaths, because when we feel stressed we don't breathe properly.

We often take shallow breaths at this time, stopping enough oxygen getting to our brains so we can understand that this is something that will pass like everything else we have experienced in our life.

-Finally, know that it will all be okay. You've made it through all the tough stuff, struggling, facing uncertainty and rejection and you've survived.

These three words (uncertainty, rejection and struggle) are actually power words, because when we accept them as just how life is when we are going on our change journey, we know that this is just another challenge that will grow us to where we need to be next.

This is what makes us happy, knowing that everything that happens to us is actually helping us be better today.

It brings peace and ensures we live a happy journey.

-If you would like to discuss any of this, please call me on 027 236 7729 or email me at scott@loveandmoneynetwork.com