It’s frustrating and exhausting when other people take too much of your time, attention, and energy. And worse yet, you feel helpless to stop them.
You already have a lot on your plate and more than enough to do. When suddenly, bam! You find yourself held hostage to this other person’s agenda.
You feel trapped, and you agonize over why you don’t know how to get out of the situation. You search for the right words but nothing comes up. Your stress rises like water in a sinking ship.
Why does this always happen to me?
This is the question that haunts you. You might even think there’s something wrong with you. Other people don’t seem to have this happen to them the way you do.
And then, the resentment begins to seep in, slowly at first. Over time, you can’t escape the wiry feelings of irritation and annoyance, and you don’t seem to be able to stop them from growing.
These tenacious vines become thicker and thicker but don’t do anything to protect you. Instead, they actually feel like they’re strangling you.
This makes you feel even more powerless and at the mercy of those people.
The Good News
The good news is that there’s actually an easy solution to this aggravating problem. It’s a lot like that sinking ship with the hole in it. You could find some really sturdy buckets and start bailing. And keep bailing. And keep bailing.
I think you know where that goes. You end up, once again, exhausted and disappointed in yourself because you couldn’t bail fast enough or diligently enough.
And you feel even more rancor and hopelessness than before.
By now, it’s probably obvious that the solution is…to plug the hole in the ship.
You might be thinking to yourself, “But I’m not a carpenter, I never learned to be a welder.”
That’s the really great part of this secret. The kind of repair that needs to be made is something you were born to do and have had within you your entire life.
Y.O.U. A.R.E. M.A.D.E. for this.
Cape Optional
Just like every superheroine out there, you have powers within you that are just waiting to be awakened. And in a weird way, the people out there who are walking all over you are actually agents of transformation, inviting you to claim those very powers.
But don’t worry if you have trouble believing that about them. For now, they are the problem you want to solve.
But are they?
The people you feel are causing you stress are actually just the water. Like any liquid, water will flow into whatever space is available. So, seal up that hole in your hull and the water will do its other job, which is to support you in reaching your destination.
Are you ready to step into your superheroine identity?
Can you guess what your superpower is?
It’s as plain as the nose on your face, as we used to say when I was a kid. In fact, it’s so ordinary, you probably won’t even believe me when I tell you what it is.
It’s something you do and experience every day, all day, in fact.
It’s as invisible to you as the air you breathe and just as essential.
Try not breathing for a while and see how quickly you become aware of the power of your breath. Suddenly, you realize that you have relied on it for as long as you can remember. You can’t live without it, in fact.
This superpower is exactly like that.
You’ve always done it. You mostly don’t notice it. It’s the driving force of your entire life.
Seeing Is Believing
Seeing this superpower is just like that moment when you stopped breathing and awakened to how vital it is to your very existence. When I tell you what it is, you’ll probably scoff or laugh a bit. ‘That old thing?’ you’ll say.
And when that happens, I want you to stop doing it for 10 minutes, just like breathing. Stop using this superpower and see how your life feels without it.
If you’re like most of us, you won’t even know how to stop doing it because no one ever taught you that you have the power to choose when, how, and why to do it.
Unlike this superpower, we all learned at some point how to manipulate our breath, whether it was for swimming, blowing out a birthday candle, or seeing who could hold it the longest without passing out.
I am certain that NO ONE has ever shown you that you have this amazing power and that you have everything you need within you to make it fulfill YOU.
This superpower is all you’ll ever need to meet Stress and have it be a source of POWER FOR YOU.
Are you ready to see yourself as the superheroine you already are?
Do you want to master this superpower that you already have within you, that you’ve used unconsciously your entire life up until this moment?
Excellent!
Your ship is the Story of who you believe yourself to be. The hole in your ship lets you know where your Story is unconscious, unattended, and disempowering.
Become a master of your Story and you will sail with freedom, joy, and wholeness on the sea of your life.
Not only that, you can learn how to spot when and how others are wielding Story as a weapon. You will become a Master of Emotional Aikido, employing Story with skill and ease.
No more leaks, no more holes, no more buckets, no more bailing.
If you are in doubt about the power Story has over your life…spend 10 minutes without it. No Story for that short time.
If you don’t know how to eliminate Story within yourself for even that brief period, that’s how you know that you’ve never been initiated into the Art and Science of Story.
There’s more good news. Even if you don’t understand this right away…it’s only a matter of time. Just the fact that you read this means that the seed of awareness has been planted.
When the time is right you’ll see, in a flash of insight, the power that Story has to make life a stormy, threatening journey or a thrilling, enlivening adventure.
You’ve got this.
And you’ve got me to help you anytime you want to become that Emotional Aikido Master who wields Story with skill and ease.
Wishing you the fulfillment of realization,
Zette
