Getting Out of Your Own Way (again)

Begin somewhere;

you cannot build a reputation

on what you intend to do.

-Liz Smith

The vision must be followed by the venture.

It is not enough to stare up the steps

-we must step up the stairs.

-Vance Havner

This week is about Getting Out of Your Own Way… the (again) is because this is a previous entry from 2008 that is appropriate and timely for all of us right now. I am reintroducing previous posts for the next couple weeks, taking some much needed R & R and enjoying the summer.

“Getting out of your own way” is otherwise known as “I hear you, Catherine it is good advice, BUT…”

What does “but” stand for? I tried to come up with a good acronym, BUT (hah! there it is…again) I decided to move ahead with this writing and get to the point, in a sense get out of my own way. How many of us have prayed and affirmed only to wait and wonder what the hold up is? Believe it or not, many times the holdup is our own self-talk, our own fear, and our own obstacles.

Manifesting works. Affirmations work. I am living proof of the power of affirmations, I am also living proof of the personal obstacles we place in our paths in order to stay comfortable in our misery. This entry is very important this week, particularly with the economy, elections and the overall mood of the country right now. The time for getting out of your own way has never been more vital, more important than today.

How many of you over the past week have put your dreams on hold? Honestly, think about it, I know for a fact there are at least six of you, because I have talked with you this week and that is why I have chosen to write about how to step aside of self and move ahead. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get out of bed on Monday, only to find that the stock market took the spiritual nose-dive of 777. The need for dreams, vision journals and optimism is imperative now. Motivation is needed always at times when we don’t have the least interest in moving forward.

To get out of your own way means to hold tight to those dreams and visions and let go of how it is going to happen. It is faith on full blower. Holding a dream and a vision can be the most challenging thing for us, particularly when everything seems to be in chaos. It doesn’t seem like a great time right now, but when all is said and done, you will look back and realize it is the straight path to happy. Getting out of your own way means to quit analyzing how you are going to get to the happy, just keep your eye on the happy.

Check the chaos in your life and see if it self-made chaos. I know I talked about the Cosmic Closet Cleaning and it is still a closet cleaning, but which closet? Yours or your neighbor’s? If it your neighbor’s closet or a closet in the spare room then you are getting in your own way. This is not about procrastination; it is about putting your energy somewhere other than the focus. In some cases, as in mine it is trying too hard and putting out energy when I should just be enjoying the journey. Micromanaging is getting in your own way. I am blessed with friends that not only listen to what I say, but observe and throw some of my own wisdom right back at me! Tom is notorious for it. Just last week after I declared how everything was FINALLY falling into place and I even had time off to relax, Tom in his wisdom said “all you needed to do was quit trying so hard and let it happen, you’re good and people need you.” I needed to get out of my own way. I did and still keep my eye on happy, and realized that being happy IS the best method for getting out of your own way.

Simple yes, and I could get in my own way and think about what I don’t have, what I need, want and how difficult it will be to find the time or the money to do whatever. But that blocks happy, that is getting in the way of progress, YOUR progress. Keeping your eye on the prize and trusting the universe to offer you the most direct route to that dream will allow the opportunities to flow. This is even if you are facing bankruptcy, foreclosure, job loss or just chaos in your life. As I mentioned in the other entries look at what is happening from a different perspective and even though it is mega-stress it is important to keep your eye on happy and your dreams in order to get you through. So many change their focus rather than accepting that what is occurring is guidance, a reset button, and believe it or not, progress.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT NOT HOW YOU GET THERE. And, here is another tidbit, enjoy the journey as it unfolds, but don’t force it. I didn’t say this advice was easy, I just said it was advice! Your homework this week is to redefine your dreams, or perhaps just resurrect them. How long have they been buried or abandoned? Plan, dream and fantasize about where you would travel, or perhaps buy a house? Create a job, or find a partner? Pay attention to your self-talk and bless it on its way out the door! Allow your dreams to unfold and say to your guides and angels that you ARE ready to move forward. Think of the Lord’s prayer, “thy will be done” in a new context. It is about allowing.

Give yourself the gift of dreaming and planning. When you look at the goal, keeping the eye on the prize it takes the energy off the fear and puts it toward happy and the goal. THAT IS HOW THE LAW OF ATTRACTION WORKS.

I am LIVING PROOF THAT IT WORKS OVER AND OVER AGAIN…You create your future and it is fun, but you need to put all doubt aside and just be with your plans and discard the “how could I possibly get there” frustrations. That is what getting out of your own way is all about.

SAVE the DATE, more info to come…

There will be a workshop in Baltimore on September 24-26 that will focus on identifying the obstacles in your life and how to remove them in order to move forward. It is entitled

Stop Sabotaging Yourself: