I'm Listening

As we get closer to the end of the year, I am reflecting on last year's challenges and accomplishments and also looking ahead towards creating strategic plans for the new year and improving upon all my offerings, looking to serve my community better, and up my game in every way. I want to be the very best coach for my clients. 

I am always striving to make Ditched the Drink better. I am always thinking about how to shine like a lighthouse and expand my reach towards the women who, like me years ago, are seeking support but unsure what kind.

Women who are in search of a life raft in the dark, stormy waters but really don't want to make a spectacle of it. Women who want to solve this problem quietly, quickly, and without anyone knowing about it. Women who think their ultimate goal is to just fit in and be like everyone else. Women that beg for perceived normalcy when it comes to drinking but can't seem to figure that out. 

Women who wonder, How much do I have to invest in this? How big of a problem is it really? Do I want to admit I am paying someone to help me? Is it that bad? Shouldn't I be able to do this on my own? God forbid, am I an alcoholic?

Can sober Instagram, a book, and a podcast be enough to solve this pesky problem? Why can't I get a handle on this? I can project manage every single part of my life except this. WTH is going on here?

How can I express the right words to help these women, like you, like me, to take the big leap of faith that is reaching out for help? How can I make them feel safe and understood once they do? What will be the thing that tips them towards me?

What will inspire them to set up that complimentary call? How can I get them closer to me? Sobriety is nearly contagious in my Insider Community.

How can I support women in wanting to try something new? How can I help them push past their internal resistance? How can I get them to get excited about the possibility of change, support, and transformation? 

Nearly everyone who gets off their first free call with me leaves feeling more hopeful than when they started. That complimentary call usually feels like a big, beautiful exhale, sometimes one that has been waiting for decades to come out. I want this sweet release for everyone who wants it for themselves. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want it if they knew, but they don't know. I didn't know. It's scary; I do know that. It's scary to change, and it's scary to stay the same.

I wish they could see and know what I see and know now, and that is every single day women like them are sitting on the other side of my screen. These women are healing, growing, repairing, learning, and ditching the drink with strength, courage, pride, and joy. 

Yes joy! They are getting out of their own heads and learning new ways of looking at things. They are recognizing their own outdated stories and writing new ones. They are achieving, awakening, and attracting. For me to be a guide and a witness to this transformation is the most beautiful work that I could do on this earth.

Every single day I fall to my knees in gratitude for it. That sounds dramatic, but it is true. Every single client feels like a hand picked dream come true for me. Ditched the Drink feels almost too good to be true, and it's hard to trust that it won't be taken away at any moment. It's been over 5 years and still. I am scared of it's impermanence. I am terrified I won't be able to do this forever. 

To be totally honest, sometimes I get so caught up in my own hustle, my own fury of productivity, that I don't have time to stop and listen. End-of-year goals, new offerings like LIVE workshops and monthly mastermind calls, planning in-person events, podcasting, mentoring new coaches, and more give me such an adrenaline rush.

I get myself quickly overwhelmed, and burnout is no longer an option for me. I won't allow myself to use anything, including a job that I adore, to distract from my feelings of grief, poor self-worth, and more.

I have to do the internal work that I support in others. This is not easy to do when there's A LOT of shiny stuff out there calling me away from myself everywhere I turn. I know you can relate. 

So right now, as we approach the end of the year advent, I am working on sitting and listening. I am practicing sitting quietly every morning and every night. I have returned to some practices, like reading a daily devotional and dedicated morning page. These were my tools in my first days of sobriety. It has been almost excruciating for me to sit still. Precisely why I need the practice. I love to be a busy body. I love to check it off the list. I love to overachieve; I love to perform. These things could kill me. I love them so much. 

I desire to live in flow, but I haven't been doing that at all. I've been grinding. I want to silence my ego, but I've been entertaining it. I've been stressing myself out and putting so much pressure on myself for more. The truth is, I want a small, simple business that aligns with my life and my values, but I am so afraid of scarcity. I am afraid if I don't keep butting in line and pushing to the top, someone else will take my spot. If I don't keep promoting myself, then the right people won't be able to find me. I am afraid if I slow down, what is for me won't find me and it will go to someone else instead. Someone less qualified even. How arrogant and codependent of me, I know. 

I know in my heart that all this noise is total bullshit. I would absolutely coach you out of this type of thinking, by the way, because I am good at that, but practicing it myself? Well, well, well, that's a different story now, isn't it?!

So I am practicing silencing the noise and listening to my heart. 

I am not looking to keep uping my own ante and succeed by chasing the elusive carrot on a stick in front of me. I am capable of it. I've been doing it, to be honest. I don't want it. I am instead looking for a new strategic plan to arise from within, not from ChatGPT. 

Thank you for being here as a witness.

If I can support you, please reach out. Clients are signing up and succeeding right now. I hope that inspires you just to know that.

You are not alone. 

I am just going to be over here sitting quietly.

I'll let you know what comes up. 

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