“Nah, mate. Can’t do it. I think it’s structural and I don’t want to touch it.” And with that he turned on his heel and left. These are the words from a tradie to (my) Handsome Hubby whilst they were standing in the completely ripped out kitchen of our 100-year-old home. HH had asked the tradie to come and help him remove part of our kitchen flue before our new kitchen arrived the following week. Tradie took one look and refused. I, busily carting said ripped out bathroom from the rear of our house to a skip parked in the front, didn’t notice until later that morning it all seemed a bit too quiet on the kitchen-front. Upon investigation, HH told me what had transpired. The tradie had refused to do the work and exited stage left!
“So what’s Plan B?” I asked, fearful the installation of my new kitchen would be stalled (I'd waited four years for a new kitchen and I didn't want it to be held up now!) “I’ll have to think of something else.” said HH calmly and joined me in the rubbish removal chore. (side note: HH was chilled - he knew the answer would come from somewhere #alwaysinflow)
Suddenly, I found myself in a pivotal moment.
There was a time when I would have not given this, what I like to call glitch in the matrix, another thought. I would have assumed that the experts (in this example, a tradesperson and a building engineer) had assessed the situation and made the correct call. Which, I feel is important, to point out they did. But they did so by looking at the situation one way only.
There was a time when I would have felt extremely resentful that I had not been asked my opinion. That belief of Not Being Good Enough would have reared its ugly head and driven some undesirable action I would have regretted later. It may have been in the form of a tantrum, or it may have been the opposite - staying silent.
As I continued trudging rubbish from the house to the skip, I noticed as an old familiar internal dialogue arose. Do you know the one? The one that warned me to be quiet, that I hadn’t been asked to contribute, to leave it to those 'in the know’, that if those two men couldn’t see another way, how on earth would I?
But, with the determination of the woman who has not had a functioning kitchen for four years, #visionpulls, I chose to ignore it, made myself a cup of tea in the garage and wandered into the empty, quiet kitchen. Gazing at the flue, I sipped my tea and allowed my mind to open. In other words, I got curious. Before the tea had even cooled, an idea had flowed in. I called HH in and asked him a few structural questions. I put forth my suggestion and requested his thoughts. He looked at me and said, with a huge smile, “that’s a great idea and I think it will work”. After a little more risk-assessment, the removal began. 24 hours later HH and I, covered in 100 years of dust and dirt and beaming with achievement, had completed the task. With some awesome tools, a massive mother of a drill and no tradie. I was no smarter, nor better, than the two men who had walked away from this project the day before. I was just a different set of eyes. I was flexible and adaptable. I was open to another way. I didn’t let my self-doubt squash my curiosity (and mission for a new kitchen). I slowed right down – for goodness sake, the idea appeared whilst I was drinking a cup of tea! I could not have been moving any slower! As we move through life we are regularly gifted opportunities to expand or contract. We are given pivotal moments to Make A Choice. We can choose to continue trudging the rubbish along the driveway, feeling resentful and angry that we were not consulted. We can allow the voice of doubt to convince us it's not our place to speak. Or, we can put down the barrow, make ourselves a cuppa, invite inspiration in, share our ideas and create something new.
Which will you choose?
PS. I am so excited that this week was the first group call with the 2021 Salonies! The Salonies are a group of extraordinary humans who are coming together to learn more about their own unconscious patterns and to be supported as they make new choices - in each and every pivotal moment in their professional and personal lives. If this feels exciting to you, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.
MY MISSION is for everyone on the planet to find their VOICE, step into their POWER and SHINE their light out into the world. I do this by helping high performers expand their minds, create whatever it is they wish then lead from the front.