Recently, I came across a one-minute video by Christine Caine. (There’s a link at the end of the blog post.) It rocked my world. As a good “7” on the Enneagram, I am about joy, positivity and finding the bright side of life. It’s often a challenge to acknowledge and deal with struggles.
Christine says to move from gifting to anointing – the divine power to use your gift – you have to be crushed, like grapes being crushed to make wine or olives being crushed to produce olive oil. In order to receive the Divine power to use the gift, you have to choose to step into a crushing process where the imperfections are removed and the good stuff is what remains.
Choosing to look at the negatives, deciding to let go of old and counterproductive behaviors takes courage. It’s a bold step to say, “I’m going to trust God and move into the place of His leading.” Especially when it means stepping out of your comfort zone. And it always means stepping out of your comfort zone. In this process, you’re going to learn a new way of seeing and interacting with the world.
It’s helpful to remember that courage doesn’t mean a lack of fear. That’s unrealistic. Our brain was wired for fear long, long ago. Courage means feeling the fear and taking action anyway. Courage means weighing the options and choosing to move forward, even if we feel fear in the process.
Here are 5 things to be aware of as you choose to act courageously.
- Perceptions: What are your perceptions around this challenge? What do you believe is possible? What do you perceive others believe you should do? While some may say they don’t care what others think, the perceptions of others (or what we believe they perceive and believe) influences our choices.
- Habits: What habits in your life support the status quo? Are there habits that could support you in choosing courage? What are they? How can you incorporate them into your daily life and make it stick?
- Messages: What are the messages in your environment on a daily basis? Do these messages empower you to choose courageously or do they support the status quo? What message do you want to have in your environment? How can you make this happen?
- The Power of the Other: Henry Cloud speaks to this in his book, The Power of the Other. Those who speak into our life definitely shape our thoughts and beliefs about our self and our sense of agency. Who is speaking into you? Are they speaking life, potential, and realistic possibility or are they speaking limits and should that serve their interests, not yours? Do they support you being crushed to get the best stuff, or do they speak status quo and cannots into you?
- Bucking the System: Choosing, rather than following an established path or pattern goes against the “system”. Making the choice to buck the system takes courage. You are setting off on an uncharted course. Others may not know what to do with this. Do it anyway. The results in your life and the lives of those you impact will be worth the courage it takes to choose a different path.
Choosing to take action is not for the faint of heart. But it’s the way to get to your Masterpiece Work. If you’re interested in exploring your Masterpiece Work, join us for the Awaken Your Masterpiece Webinar, a one-hour online workshop that explores the process of stepping into the work where you can make the biggest difference in this season of your life. Sign up below to find out when registration opens.
Watch Christine Caine’s video here.
