I Can’t Say Enough about ACTION

I am quite in AWE about the transformative power of ACTION! It’s one of those things I thought I knew. My parents taught me to work hard–hard work is part of my nature. It is also what helped me be successful in my young life.

Sometimes “knowing” can be detrimental:

• It can make us lazy– “I don’t have to do that because I already ‘get it.'”
• It can cause resistance–because that action seems scary and I’m not really sure I want to go there.

Regardless of how many times I think I know, I am always amazed when I humble myself and do the work. Every time I do, I rediscover something I thought I already knew.  It’s almost like I am learning for the first time, only I am able to understand it more deeply.

I call this “moving from head knowledge to heart knowledge,” and it is always facilitated by ACTION.

When I DO something with what I’ve learned, the bits information stuck in my head move into every other cell of my body. The knowledge becomes a part of my being instead of something I can access from a mental shelf in the library of my mind.  I feel more enlightened; I feel lighter, happier, more energetic… It’s incredible!

In fact, I am currently experiencing this whole body enlightenment. “Doing the Work” is a concept I thought I already knew, until (like so many times before) a challenge moved me not simply into action, but massive action.
The assignment came from David TS Wood and Lisa Nichols as a part of a speakers’ training called Amplified Train the Trainer. They challenged us participants to look for stories in the NOW of our lives instead of looking to memories of the past or visions of the future. They explained that the way we could find these “Now” stories was to say “YES!” to the opportunities of each day, and “BOTH!” if more than one opportunity arose.

I jumped in with both feet and created so many stories by saying Yes! to being an active participant in each (or many more than usual) moment of my life. I said yes to dancing; wearing lipstick; going down the slide with my grandson, Lukas; playing darts and shuffle board with my family. I had conversations with beautiful people on the subways of New York City, slept on a mattress with my daughter Madyson on the floor of the Brooklyn apartment that we called home for 5 days. I drove Dave’s huge duel cab Chevy truck to California to help my daughter Arielle move from LA to her new apartment in Laguna Niguel, for heaven’s sake! (That one took a lot of intestinal fortitude…)

Each of these moments has positively impacted my life, along with many more I haven’t mentioned. The most impactful Yes!, however, is the #100DaysofLaughter challenge that my Australian friend and accountability partner, Tammy Richie, created. We were speaking on the phone (via FaceBook–coolest thing ever) for our daily accountability call. I was Christmas shopping at Ulta, and she was in the children’s ward of her local hospital while her son recovered from surgery. As we spoke, two singing clowns entered the hospital room. Apparently they came by often to spread happiness to the kids (and parents,) so Tammy had formed a relationship with them. She called them over, handed them her phone, and said, “Here! Talk to my friend, Cary. She is from the United States.” They took the phone and sang a song to me and about me that they created as they went. It was hilarious! When they handed the phone back to Tammy, she commented on how good it felt to laugh for a moment. Then (in typical Tammy form) she created the idea for this laughter challenge. “Let’s look for reasons to laugh out loud every day for 100 days and post videos about it on FaceBook. We can start a happiness movement!” And the challenge was born.

I haven’t typically been one to laugh out loud. I smile and laugh on the inside–cuz that’s just who I am–but (true to Cary form) once I committed, I was compelled to do it. Today is Day 49. I cannot tell you the power this has had on my life!! I feel free! I feel joyful! I feel empowered!