I recently had the opportunity to fly to a business retreat in Hawaii in First Class. I know it’s not for everyone—and that’s okay!—but it is totally an experience I love and I take it any chance I can.
(Pro Tip: Want to fly First Class but feel like it’s out of reach? Use a biz credit card that gives you air miles or look for last minute upgrades that are a fraction of the original price.)
Anyway, I’m in line to board the plane when the people in front of me come to an abrupt halt and I can’t tell if it’s because they are in a later boarding group or if something is happening that I don’t know about.
Turns out they are in boarding group 2, so I move to step around them at the same time this guy does and we almost collide. The man looks at me and asks (with one raised eyebrow), “Are you in boarding group number 1?”
“Yep.”
Both eyebrows raise but he waves me forward and we get on the plane.
And as I’m sitting there in First Class I realize, I’m the only girl here.
I’m the only one with pink hair (though I’m kind of used to that).
And I’m one of only two people who aren’t dressed in suits.
WOAH.
And I had this flash moment of, “Do I really belong here?”
Have you ever experienced that? The feeling of being a fraud?
Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash
I think it’s really, really easy to fall into, especially when we’re participating in experiences that seem to stretch us outside our comfort zone.
It often looks like:
I don’t create like that person, I feel like a fraud.
I don’t sound like so-and-so, I feel like a fraud.
I don’t take non-stop action, I feel like a fraud.
I don’t have all my shit together, I feel like a fraud.
I am not as fun as she is, I feel like a fraud.
I am not as kind and inclusive as he is, I feel like a fraud.
I am too much/not enough, I feel like a fraud.
You get the idea. We are constantly comparing ourselves (and our creation) to others (and their creation).
And when that happens, we end up feeling like somehow WE are the fraud. We are the piece that doesn’t belong. We are the mistake and everyone else is the “real deal.”
When the truth is that sacred creation, like any artistic endeavor, is such a personalized experience that there is no ONE right way to reach the end goal. There is only trying different approaches until you find the way that works for you.
Sacred rebels don’t come in one shape, one size, or one way of being.
Like fireflies, who have about 2000 species in their family. 2000!!! And all of them get to be called firefly.
I bet there are a hundred times that many species of change-agent-magic-makers on this planet and ALL OF THEM—including you—get to be called sacred rebels.
Which takes me back to that seat in First Class, doubt closing in as I glanced from passenger to passenger. “Am I the fraud? Do I really belong here?”
The feeling was intense but only lasted a hot second before all my mindset training—the work I’ve been doing for YEARS—kicked in. It helped me identify lie from truth and, with a secretive smile and a slight shrug, brush away those thoughts with a stronger knowing:
Of course, I belong here.
I may not belong with these people… especially Mr. Judgement Eyebrows… but I belong in this experience.
I belong because I want it and I choose it.
Whatever you dream of creating… whatever goal you desire to accomplish… whatever experience you yearn to have… claim it. Believe it.
And know that you belong in whatever experience you choose!
I believe in you, Firefly. I really, really do.
Loves & hugs,
P.S. Want to know what “species” of sacred rebel you are? Take the quiz! —> www.SacredRebels.me