“The Big Leap”, a Road Trip and the Secret to Happiness?

There are times when a book comes along with the insight you need, right when you are ready to hear it AND that awareness is just what you need to change the way you look at your life. It can even change the way you live your life. To me, The Big Leap is one of those books which I highly recommend in the audio version.

This past week we were on a family road trip and I was able to pop on my head phones and listen to Gay Hendricks explain this idea to me of having an upper limit that we hit up against when things are going well. Which has been my experience so much of the time lately! Things will be going REALLY well, when suddenly it’s one thing after another until I have to crawl back up again after being knocked down so much.

I do always get back up, but have come to crave a situation where I don’t need these ups and downs and can instead be in a sustainable place of calm and preferably happy.

Which is why people started recommending this book to me I’m sure. Several people.

As I was saying to my friends, “I just don’t get it. I write a blog post I love, feel really great about it, but then technology will go haywire on me and I can’t get it out into the world without a struggle.” Which is such a bummer because the excitement turns to frustration by the time I get things working and I’m such a believer in the energy of my posts and I like them to feel “high vibe.”

It’s not just my blog posts either. Instagram and Facebook, even submitting emails to people I’d like to connect to, fail for random reason and I found myself stepping back to wonder “What is going on?”

You see, it’s one thing for people to see my work and either connect to it or disregard it, but it’s another thing entirely if I have to make multiple attempts to get it out there, right?

So annoying!

So frustrating!

Yet, being that I believe we contain the secret to our success inside us, I decided to get curious about these barriers and obstacles rather than keep pushing up against them.

I vented in a FB Group to get the emotions off my chest and then I let it go. And there it was, in one of the comments, “Have you read The Big Leap?” Reminding me that no less than four people had already told me to read this book!

Fast forward to sitting in the passenger seat on a winding and beautifully green road on our road trip, listening to this book and thinking “Oh my God, that’s it! I am upper limiting myself!”

Now I can’t recap the entire book because Gay does a great job of explaining it all, but I can say that if you find that when things are going well, something seems to come in and derail you like illness, injury, obstacles, or financial stress – then you may really like this book.

In my case, worry is my “go to.” When things are going well, my mind seems to get lost in worrying about something.

I’ll give you a glimpse into my mind of worry that happened just this morning in my Kundalini yoga class. I was feeling great. I was feeling so glad I made it to class after a week of camping over eating (banana s’mores, ice-cream treats, you name it!). My mind started to wander to my Mindful Monday content and I was excited to share information about The Big Leap and this idea in general of our Upper Limit.

We did an exercise where we lie on our backs and move our legs to our breath. I was reminded that my hip has been clicking for some reason.

CUE THE WORRY!

Next thing I know I’m thinking about needing to go to a chiropractor or someone to fix this issue. I decide I need to start stretching every day and maybe hit the hot tub to see if I can get it to stop. Then I start thinking about the cost of the chiropractor after we’ve just spent money on vacation.

All the good feelings of being in class were suddenly replaced with fear, worry, and the stress of having to go to all these appointments and do all this stretching and hot tub time I didn’t know how I would be able to fit in.

Thankfully, I caught this pattern. Yes my hip was clicking but it only does it with this one exercise. Which means it’s not the end of the world and I’m sure it can be fixed. Even if it can’t be fixed there was nothing I could do about it in that moment other than modify the exercise.

When I thought about it, I was literally feeling very good. Grateful for the class and my decision to go to it when the worry loop started. I must’ve reached beyond my comfort level with my happiness and was bringing myself back down to my comfort zone. The place where I still expect something to go wrong when things are going well, even though I’ve really tried to move through this pattern. (SEE: How to Release Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop Syndrome)

But you know what? Identifying the pattern linked to the good feelings did break the cycle for that specific moment and the rest of the class.

I expect to have to do this many times to really make a lasting change, but that sounds better to me than worrying.

Which brings me back to the question, “Is the secret to happiness inside us?” Could it really be that simple?

It doesn’t mean things will never go wrong, of course we will have obstacles, but what about all the things that bring us down in a day that we can control? I could’ve been upset all day about my hip and when else it might click. I could’ve made myself crazy this week with doing extra stretches and making doctor appointments.

Or I could let it go, breathe and see what feels like the best next step if any.

If any.

I’m now taking what I’ve learned and applying it to my work. We’ll have to see if technology still plagues me or if it can support me as I’ve always hoped it would. Maybe I’ll be able to do a Facebook live without the strange pixilation soon. Who knows?

I tell you, when we figure this out it is pure magic. It just makes our lives flow easier.

To get The Big Leap, you can find it on Amazon here:

How about you? Do you find you question it if things seem too good, or too peaceful, too calm, and even too easy? Could you be hitting an upper edge of your comfort zone and your mind is bringing you back down again?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

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