“You Can’t Control the Wind but You Can Adjust Your Sails”
Between the stay at home orders and the frozen tundra which shutdown most of Texas, like many of you, I have had plenty of quiet time to reflect on my life; where I’ve been, where I am now and where I want to go in the future. While I always felt like I lived with an ongoing self-analysis of those things – this time the delving was much deeper.
The last 35 years of my life have been spent absorbing myself into the world of health and fitness. My normal sweat-immersed week included teaching a variety of group exercise classes interspersed with coaching and encouraging my one on one personal training clients. My joy and my passion has been all about healing touch, helping others feel comfortable in their own skin and energizing folks to enjoy exercise. Lucky for me, I also got paid to workout. Not a bad gig for sure.
If Covid-19 had never happened, most likely my daily life would look the same way it has for decades. But it did. And for me, the pandemic marked the beginning of challenge, choosing and changing.
In late February my husband and I decided to grab our masks and finally risk dining in (risky behavior pre-vaxed) at one of our favorite Texas based restaurants Pappadeux. Like twin butterflies trapped inside the same cocoon, we spread our socially impaired wings and chose to land in a cushy booth by the window. Sans mask once seated, we were intoxicated with freedom!
As we entertained our taste buds with the most amazing blend of spices and seafood – we randomly started talking about the business of Real Estate. “Have you ever thought about becoming a realtor?” he asked. My kneejerk reaction was “not really, it’s just not in my wheelhouse.” As the words so easily tumbled out of my mouth I felt my chest tighten with anxiety. “Hmm, that surprises me” he said. “As much as you love looking at new homes and hunting day after day until we found our new home . . . it seems like it would be such a good fit for you.”
In my mind I thought, true . . . I love that part, but there is just no way I can learn all the ins and outs of the contracts, escrow, titles, math . . . math . . . and more math (my misguided concept). As I absorbed my senses into the pleasurable garlic-drenched cheese dancing on my tongue, I simultaneously felt my pulse quicken. This girl who promotes the mantra of “fearless” – suddenly found her own source of hidden fear. Now what?
Here’s where the story gets weird and it makes you believe in some cosmic convergence connection kind of thing. I got a text.
It was my first communication from the amazing, top notch realtor who had sold our home in Charlotte six and a half years ago. Nothing, nada, zilch from her between November 2014 and this moment in time; hubby and I sitting in a booth in Austin, Texas talking about the possibility of me becoming a realtor . . . and BOOM . . . text from Gayle, the most successful realtor I know. Now that is just crazy!
After our joint expletive laced “No WAY!” . . . you’ve got to be kidding me!! I said, OK . . . that is just way too weird. When we get home I will look into the ins and outs of getting my license (ignoring my racing heart, defeatist narratives and fear of possibly failing.)
With zero confidence and much trepidation (the math &#%!@?!), I signed up with the Champions School of Real Estate. I chose the option that would give me the most flexibility – online correspondence, no virtual classroom, read the books, learn on your own, and take the proctored exam at the end of each course.
My first course Law of Agency started March 8. Today I am a licensed realtor in the State of Texas. I have joined the Keller Williams team and all of my doubts, fears and phobias about my capacity to learn new concepts, to expand my brain and embrace a world outside of my self-declared wheelhouse have proven to be false narratives. Here’s the most ironic aspect of this wild story – on most of my tests, I aced the math portions. Hilarious!
One of the first things the team encourages their new agents to do is to discover and write down “the big why?” Why have I chosen this path, what is my ultimate goal, how do I imagine my success . . . etc. While I have clarified for myself the answer to those questions . . . the truth is, the beginning of this very quick, exciting and exhilarating change of direction started with “why not?” A question for which I had no logical, reasonable answer.
I can only encourage you if you are hesitating and fearful of the fierce, unpredictable winds . . . you always have the option to adjust your sails . . . and enjoy the journey of exploring a different direction. Life is an adventure! So I said . . . Why Not?
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
