Here’s the thing —- you are a human being.
And because of that, I can pretty much guarantee that at some point you’re going to feel downright STUCK in your life and career.
But so much of the time the cause of our being ‘stuck’ comes down to one thing: Irrational Fear!
But the good news is that you CAN get unstuck. And the key to turning this around lies in the concept of what I call “Creative Interpretations.”
How Creative Interpretations Work
When we face one of our own, very personal, irrational fear, we immediately go into story creation mode.
We begin building and creating a story that does one of two things: We either take action or not take action.
When you create a story that causes you to NOT take action, that is a Red Light story. That’s when you play small. You make reactive decisions based on your fear.
Or, we make up a story that causes us to actually move forward and take action. This is a Green Light story.
This is a extremely simple concept; however, the difference between success and failure lies within these two stories and when we choose to make them up in our minds!
Let me give you an example of how this works. Let's say that you have a call that you want to make to a prospect. You know a woman named Dana, and Dana's a doctor. She has a successful practice, and you’ve had the thought, “I would love to chat with Dana about my business.”
But then, we start to feel a little bit of fear. Calling Dana? That’s scary. So, we go into story creation mode. We begin making up Red Light stories that embrace and support the bit of fear you’re feeling. That fear grows bigger and you take no action.
If you are stuck in your business, you should recognize that this is what you are doing! You are making up stories in your head that justify and support you not taking action
“When we face an irrational fear of ours, we immediately go into story creation mode – we assign meaning to what is happening. We create a story that either ignites fear and prevent us from success, OR causes us to be bold and take action.”
What I want you to realize is this: It is all a story.
Here’s the story you tell yourself:
Well, Dana, you know, she's a doctor? And she's got like three practices and she's super busy. I know that. She's got kids. I know she already doesn't have a lot of time to spend with her kids so why would she want to join my network marketing business and have even less time? Also, at the same … I just don't know that I would want to, be able to do that. I'm sure she wouldn't be interested. I haven’t spoken to her in a long time- what would she even think about me reaching out to her? I don't even want to bother her; so, you know what? Now is not the right time. I'm going to just go find someone else to talk to- but I'll come back to her later.
That's what you do. You create these stories.
Now, the important thing to realize is that all of that was just made up.
Yes, she's a doctor. Yes, she has kids, but everything else I just made up. And this is what you are doing as well!
Creating a Different Story
We have to immediately begin creating and telling ourself a different story! —- a Green Light story!!
Getting into the habit of always creating Green Light stories in our mind can literally change the trajectory of your life and business!
Let’s take the same scenario. Dana's a doctor. Two kids. Here's how a Green Light story would go…
I should prospect Dana with my business. I haven't reached out to her in a year, but guess what else hasn't happened? She didn't reach out to me in a year, either. We're both as guilty here. I miss Dana. We used to be such good friends. I miss not having her a part of my life. What if I could share this business with her and we could become reacquainted through the business and have that friendship again? I know she's a doctor and I know she's really busy, but I also know the state of healthcare and I know a lot of doctors are frustrated. Insurances are not paying them as much as they used to and they're not really getting to do what they love the most, which is practice medicine and treat patients. I know she has two kids. I bet she doesn't want to be working all those hours. What if I could give her a vehicle that could literally give her the time freedom to spend more time with her kids? I've got a responsibility to reach out to Dana. I have to. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't let her know what I was doing?
You see what I did there?
I literally made two stories up, but the first one, the Red Light story, paralyzed me with fear and inaction. While the second story, the Green Light Story, moved me into action and a mindset of service immediately!
I promise you, this is what's keeping you stuck!
Now turning this around isn’t easy – it’s a bit of a process!
You are SO conditioned to look at it from the negative side – from the place of fear, from the point of view of a Red Story – that you have to force yourself to say “Nope – that story that’s going on in my head is just a lie. I’m just making it up to support my decision to NOT do something. And I’m not listening to that story anymore.”
So for the next week, give it a try!
What are some red lights you’ve faced recently? Write them down! Share them in the comments below! And immediately begin writing a new Green Light story and changing the trajectory of your life and business as well!
