If You’re Stuck, Get Unstuck By Getting Unclear About The How

“All it takes is faith and trust… and a little bit of pixie dust.”

– Peter Pan

I had a thought as I was falling asleep last night. So much has been falling into place for me lately–and falling with little effort. My plans to travel are very quickly taking shape… as are the means to support me financially as I globe trot. As I lay entranced in that place between consciousness and unconsciousness, I wondered what specifically had changed inside of me to bring me into my life flow. As I pondered, a little voice spoke up and said, “You’ve surrendered to what you want… rather than what you think you should have.”

Once upon a time I was trying to make my way through life in the image of what others had told me was what life “should” look like. Go to school, get a good job, work my way up, buy a house, get married, have babies, go on a few trips, renovate the house, make my yard pretty, visit a cabin on the lake and work my way to retirement.

All I can say is thank GOD for the internet… for people with ideas of how life doesn’t need to be the one our parents lead, it doesn’t need to resemble what we’re shown in today’s media or the lifestyle our friends are choosing to lead. There are so many different examples out there of people who are living the life they’ve always wanted that it’s become impossible for me to think of my dreams as only dreams–they are tangible visions that I can turn into my reality.

This voyage that I’m embarking on has been the thing I’ve wanted to do for more than a decade. All of my efforts have been geared towards giving me the freedom to go. Even when I wasn’t consciously focused on creating the opportunity to travel, it seemed as though some part of me held on to that dream, dug in and gripped so hard I carried it with me through the years.

Even just a few months ago, it still seemed so far away… it was a dream I wasn’t sure I’d get to realize. That is, until I committed to it… I just didn’t know how I was going to make it happen. The secret is in the commitment. Get yourself to that point where there’s no way in hell you’re turning back… and surrender.

To me commitment looked like giving notice at my job and at the apartment I was renting as well as letting everyone I knew… I mean everyone… that I was headed off around the world and I didn’t really know what else the picture entailed… but short of illegal activities, I was open to any and all possibilities.

The minute I surrendered the mechanics and gave up any notion of strategizing and planning before I began taking action… the minute I opened myself up to possibilities I couldn’t even fathom, guess what showed up? The means and the opportunities to take me forward.

Writing, online marketing, social media and web design contracts, volunteer organizations, websites with workplace opportunities, people to travel with, people to stay with, offers for reduced airfare and other contra opportunities, travel guides in different countries, joining friends for weddings around the globe… and I haven’t even boarded a plane yet.

If you’re stuck, get clear about the dream, but get unclear about the how. Like a magic eye, when things get out of focus, sometimes you can see the underlying message more clearly. Open your heart, step into the thing or the way of life you’ve always dreamt of, take care of anything you’ve put in your way to hold you back (pay off, sell or rent your home… have that conversation with your spouse… decide to take your kids out of school and go sailing for a year) and soak it all in!

You can’t know what’s waiting for you until you open the door, step outside and take flight!