Last week my mind was saturated with fear about the future. So consumed, I couldn’t think about anything else. I could have been excited about potential new opportunities and growth, but instead my mind was fixated on potential loss. I suppose when you have experienced so much loss in your life, this thinking is warranted, but this is not my story. I had to change my worse case scenario forecasting before my thoughts would manifest it to life. This case of storm cloud thinking needed more than affirmations as its cure. What it needed was my light switch.
I turned my storm cloud thinking into rainbows with pots of gold at the end thinking. I made the shift to feeling hopeful, energized, and excited. I didn’t just dim up, I brightened up 3000 watts! So what did it? What’s my light switch?
Doing one of my live cooking videos.
Yep, that simple. Wasn’t anything monumental. Wasn’t anything 8th World Wonder. I didn’t buy a new house, a new car, earn a job promotion, get engaged. All I did was mount my cell on my ring light and shoot a live cooking video in my two person max sized kitchen.
Doing live cooking videos is a little nerve-wracking for me. I have to make sure I speak clearly, audibly and effectively. I have to make sure viewers can see what I’m doing. I have to have all the prep work done and set up, make myself look presentable, and rehearse my opening and workflow, upon arriving home after my 9-5, before I film in the evening. My biggest worry above all, is if the dish will come out right. And I have to mask all this worry with an upbeat demeanor throughout the entire filming.
But when I’m done with a live, what a difference.
As soon as my live last week was done, the clouds dispersed and belief was ignited. I started the next day with a strong sprint workout, finished and shared posts in between my 9-5 work tasks, and had a powerful strategizing session with Shalee. A crazy thing also happened.
While I was driving to work the next morning after filming, a car yielded in front of me that had “God” as the first part of their self-designed license plate. At the time I was thinking about my future. Seeing this, I asked for a sign to have faith and trust in His plan, specifically I had asked to see “777.” Last year, I wrote this down as my sign from the universe as instructed by Gabrielle Bernstein’s book, The Universe has your Back. Well, I kid you not, almost simultaneously, the “God” car changed lanes and another car aggressively took its place in front of me with “777” on its license plate! What a gift of confirmation!
THE WIRING OF A LIGHT SWITCH
Educating on a lifestyle that is designed to help others live well so they can rock their purpose lifts my heart, and doing so in a way that is uncomfortable lifts my mind. This is what makes live cooking videos my light switch.
From what I’ve experienced, while sharing your gifts helps maintain your awesomeness, it doesn’t level you up. The level up happens when you get uncomfortable and brave through fear. Last summer, Alex and I went on a hike at the park. The flat terrain was enjoyable and non threatening, in contrast to going up and down the steep hills which, partially due to having knee surgery, scared me. While the flat terrain helped me maintain my cardio and brain function, the more challenging and scary steep hills built them up, as well as my confidence. Confidence in yourself, will also give you confidence in your future. This is why braving through fear is a design element of the light switch.
What isn’t a design element of the light switch is likes and followers. As embarrassing as it may be to admit, not many people watch my lives in real time at all. In fact, this last one, only one person was present at the time of the actual live. ONE PERSON. And I still experienced this mindset 180. So inner powerful, attention or accolades from others is not part of the wiring of the light switch.
HOW TO FIND YOUR LIGHT SWITCH
I somewhat stumbled on my light switch. I knew sharing cooking videos gave me joy and meaning, and I only decided to start doing lives to help promote Sexy Starts in the Kitchen because Sexy Starts with Self-Love. Without editing capability, I knew doing them live was going to be more challenging for me, and after doing my first live, I realized how nervous and excited they made me. It may involve some trial and error, but start with your gifts, then simply find a way to share them that rattles your nerves a bit.
If all you can see are storm clouds, try sharing your gifts and get uncomfortable, and you too will experience the mind magic of the light switch.
