Decisive, Liberating Actions

Yesterday I was working with a client who is having a hard time moving forward with the actions she needs to take. She kept procrastinating and distracting herself because she realized that moving forward means saying goodbye to her old identity.

The old identity that we need to let go of is sometimes wrapped up in sentimentality or ego, and those present stumbling blocks.

Many of us face that when we change careers. It was a real jolt for me when I changed careers and went from having a good salary and benefits to a straight commission sales job. Years later, after being happy and comfortable being a magazine editor for about 10 years, it was hard to adjust to the fact that the business had changed and I needed to change. I had to get a clear look at my future, make another plan, and then act on it. Each time, the shift itself looked daunting, but once I made the leap and shifted gears, everything worked out.

My client is in a similar situation. She is creating a new business for herself and she intends to remain the sole owner. Her resources include some household goods and personal items that remain from her old life that can be sold to bring in enough cash to fund the new venture without taking on debt or a partner.

She is realizing that memories of the past when she had a big house full of elegant furnishings is not where she is any more. The lifestyle that works for her now is a smaller house, nicely furnished with other available money funding her business. The remnants of the old lifestyle are actually a liability, because they do not generate any cash or function in any way to bring in clients, but when she moves again, it will cost a significant amount of money to move it all once more. Selling those items now and using the cash to fund the new business turns them into an asset. It will not only fund the new business which will provide her income in the present and future years, but it will also make it much less costly to move when it comes time to move.

Once we really recognize the truth that hanging onto baggage from the past can prevent us from having a better future, then the present choices become easier to make, and the required actions are not only decisive, but liberating.

If the career we used to have is no longer available to us now, then we have to create a new one. And we have to do whatever it takes to make that work. In so many ways, the person we used to be cannot continue to define our future if we are to survive and live well.

Letting go, in so many ways, is the key to success, growth and freedom. Being at peace with who you are now and what you are doing allows you to act decisively, swiftly, and without remorse. Be who you are now, and taste freedom and strength as you breathe in and step forward. Gives you chills, doesn't it?