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When Your Brain Screams “STOP!”

Be forewarned. Anytime you try something new, your habitual brain immediately protests: ‘Watch out, this doesn’t feel right! Stop immediately!” 

  

Peter Senge, in his brilliant book, The Fifth Discipline, calls this reaction “creative tension.” 

  

This tension feels terrible, but it has a purpose. It forces us to act. We’ll do anything to reduce it.

 

One way is to lower our sights, give up the goal, and sink back into old patterns. This is the quick and easy fix many women take. 

 

A tougher but ultimately more rewarding solution is to stay the course, using tension as a driving force to keep moving forward. 

 

The closer you get to achieving your goal, warns Senge, the stronger the forces become pulling you away, the louder your brain protests, and the more urgently you want to revert to old patterns.

 

I’ve seen it repeatedly with the women I work with. They’d fall apart at the brink of success, get cold feet, recall the pain of old failures, worry they made the wrong decision. 

 

My advice is always the same. It’s okay to feel bad. Just don’t let it stop you.


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Comments & Feedback

  • Laura McCann

    Excellent point! And perfect timing! thanks!

  • Linda

    I have given into STOP way too many times. I appreciate your insight and encouragement. No more caving! Perfect timing, too.

  • Christine M Luken (@FinLifeGrd)

    Excellent advice! I needed to hear this today!

  • Terri Leichty

    Wow…this is perfect timing! I’m really using your wisdom this week…making the phone calls and sending the emails I’ve been avoiding out of fear of rejection. I’m committed to putting myself out there. Thank you!

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Meet Barbara Huson

When a devastating financial crisis rocked her world, Barbara Huson knew she had to get smart about money… and she did. Now, she wants to empower every women to take charge of their money and take charge of their lives! She’s doing just that with her best-selling books, life changing retreats and private financial coaching.

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