by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang
You think you’re nuts because you are considering leaving your job or making a big change. Your friends say you’re crazy because you are walking away from a sure thing. Your spouse is not talking to you because you are threatening the status quo and you’re now convinced that even the neighbors think you’re a little off. Everyone knows you’ve lost it.
Isn’t that GREAT?!
Someone whose mind has gone to the fringes has a tentative grasp on ‘reality’. When it comes to today’s employment prospects, that’s exactly where you want to be! Why on earth would you want to buy in to the ‘reality’ of how terrible things are? Doing so means staying still and going stale at a time when you have to be more creative than ever to solve the problems you face. Does that mean jumping off a cliff because you have no concept that reality can crush you when you land? No. But it does mean moving out of the paralysis of fear or the comfort created out of the illusion of safety.
If you’re crazy, you don’t see the limits that everyone else sees. If you’re crazy, you live by your own rules and see the world a bit differently than everyone else. Harmless crazy* people can also be quite joyful and powerful, unstoppable in their worldview and intrinsically unique. Free of convention, you are able to write your own ticket.
Isn’t that GREAT?!
When clients tell me they think they’re nuts or that everyone is telling them they are, I get confirmation that they are on the right track. Whatever it is they are thinking of doing or have hinted at with others, when met with “you’re crazy”, has now confirmed the die has been cast. We are in essence, daring to go where most won’t or even where we doubted we could. That’s scary. Not crazy.
A new Now What?® client declared that their work experience probably only qualified them to work in retail at a barely-better-than-minimum wage rate. However, she could see using her eye for fashion, décor and design in a much bigger way. She had a few ideas as to where to do that as well.
“Am I nuts?”, she asked.
“Yes”, I said. “If you believe the limits of your resume. No, if you believe in yourself.”
That’s the key. You can’t stop at what conventional wisdom dictates. You stop (and maybe only to rethink) when you can’t find an open door. However, in my experience, once someone let’s the ‘crazy’ truth out and starts taking action towards it, opportunities do arise. There is tremendous power in saying YES to yourself and NO to the limits everyone else interprets to be REALITY.
There is a way around what most people call reality. Clearly, you are not going to become a veterinarian when the closest you’ve come to an animal is the zoo or run a corporation without experience, but when you put an obstacle of ‘reality’ in front of you and leave it untested, you are not getting the full picture.
The rule is that if you have so many steps ahead of the goal that you want to give up, you MUST find ways to shorten the distance.
There may be retraining ahead. There may be education and experience but there is also a starting point. Somewhere you can step into the game, gain momentum and start scoring points towards your ultimate goal.
For example, someone recently told me they would not pursue something that they loved because there was seven years of schooling and no guarantee of a job at the end. Within mere weeks of networking, taking a few risks and volunteering to help out, his worldview shifted from “it’s impossible” to “ let me piece together my own training and learn as I go”. It remains to be seen if he can walk away from his job, but when you start saying “NO” to the status quo and “YES” to yourself, accelerated results often happen.
Are you crazy to attempt it? Absolutely!
Isn’t that GREAT?!
* It is not my intent to diminish or disrespect those suffering from mental illness
Michelle Hunter says
Dear Laura,
I am fortunate to be of a similar crazy mind-set. I like my “crazy” ideas and figuring out ways of realising them. I’m able to do this because my husband is the exact opposite. He’s now facing a crunch time and I pray he can let a little craziness into his mind. I’ll share your article with him – whether he reads it is another matter. I remain optimistic that together we’ll figure out a solution, one day.
BTW, I’m letting the idea of having you come to Stuttgart and give a talk / workshop continue to run around in the back of my (crazy) mind.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful festive season.
With love and warmth (and a glass or 2 of Gluhwein ;-))
Michelle
lbfcoach says
Dear Michelle,
I’m crazy enough to come!
Happy Holidays to you too.
Cheers,
Laura