From 1/27/09 Huffington Post Column:
It’s a new year and our country has a new President. Saying that “change is coming” seems like quite the understatement because it’s already here. I don’t know if you feel it, but I’ve been very aware of how things are shifting around us. People are starting to wake up, step up, and speak up. We are starting to come together and think in a different way. 2009 is going to be a pivotal year and the way I see it is that we are at a crossroads. There is one road that you can head down that is decorated with fear and constraint if you choose to fill your mind with thoughts about how bad our economy is. And there is another road that is decorated with opportunity for discovery if you choose to embrace all the changes that are going on around and inside of you.

Lately I’ve been on a “courage kick.” My clients may say I’m a little obsessed with courage since it seems to come up in 99% of our sessions. I’m called to share about courage, learn about it and embrace it in my own life so that I can teach it from a place of experience rather than as a concept. I’ve been reminding myself and others that courage is not the absence of fear; it is acknowledging that fear is present, feeling it and moving forward anyway.

So I ask you, are you being courageous or are you letting fear stop you? If you are waiting to not be afraid of something before you take action, you’re at a dead end. Fear does not necessarily go away until we go through it. And until we face our greatest fears, they will always be lurking there like monsters in our closets, keeping us living a life that is safe and quite frankly, complacent. Do you want to be complacent or do you want to be courageous? Do you want to boldly create your life or be a victim of circumstances?

If you are willing and ready (and we all are ABLE) to journey down the road less traveled, you will discover parts of yourself that will surprise you. My invitation for you is to consider what you want to leave behind as you travel down this road of courage and what you want to create as you go. What will 2009 be about for you? What do you want to create or step into? And I don’t just mean goal line / material things like jobs, relationships, and so on. What do you want to experience more of in your life? Joy, peace, fun, laughter, fulfillment, faith? There are so many great, juicy and wonderful options! All you have to do is choose to courageously step forward and believe you can do it – and one step at a time is good enough. Personal discovery is not a race; it’s a journey that lasts a lifetime. Are you ready to begin? Don’t wait for change to come to you or for someone or something else to change it for you, change your life now.