What you resist, you become

In 1997, I was working as a manager for a growing company. I was climbing up the corporate ladder, but somehow felt stuck. Something was holding me back but I didn’t know what. New jobs were being posted but I wasn’t applying for them. Then one day it came to me; new job means more travel. More travel means flying. Flying means fear. In that moment I stopped living. For the next several years I continued to choose job after job that would require very little travel until finally in 2003 I was working from home. Over 10 years of my professional life had been spent avoiding jobs that involved flying.

In August of this year, my girlfriend returned from a trip to Australia. As she shared with me a picture of the world famous “Ayers Rock” it hit me. I could have been standing there beside her and the only reason I was not in those pictures was fear. I was missing out on life. I was not living.

I was in a seminar recently and the instructor said, “Whatever you’re unwilling to experience is hiding that you’re unwilling to be with the experience.” In that moment, I saw that I was unwilling to be a scared passenger on a plane. Soon following, I chose to get on a plane and every time I started to feel afraid I simply chose to be with it. As unbelievable as it sounds, choosing to be there rather than resisting it caused my fear to disappear!

So, what is there to see?

There’s a saying I heard recently: “What you resist persists; what you resist you become.” I resisted feeling fear on an airplane. That was in the past. I now have a whole new future!