My interesting moments

Having come up with the concept of using a series of pivotal moments to interview the guests on my radio show, I found myself completely stumped when it came to identifying my own moments. I was shocked at just how uneventful and uninspiring my life seemed. That's normally okay; interviewers aren't supposed to be the interesting ones. However, I had committed to doing the first show about my own moments; more because the timeframe for getting a guest was too short than because I really wanted to do it. So now I was stuck with trying to make my life sound interesting. The thing with reviewing your own life is that you see it in terms of the present and like childbirth, once the trauma is over, you immediately forget the hell you were subjected to in getting to the place you are now.

For those of you who have not experienced childbirth (NB: if you are still planning on having children at sometime in the future, please skip the next few sentences – I wouldn't want to put you off) nothing can describe the pain you experience. The only thing that comes remotely close to the experience of childbirth is… actually nothing I can think of comes remotely close, so just think of the most pain you've ever been in and times that by a million, zillion, trillion times; and then double it. My point is once you are comfortable again, it is difficult to remember the journey and that's exactly how I felt trying to recall the pivotal moments in my life.

Obviously I wasn't really under any pressure to sound interesting – no – I was only going to be the first candidate on the first edition of my radio show! The vision I had so clearly seen in my mind’s eye of my “7 Rhythms of life” feature becoming a fabulous resource for women; encouraging and inspiring them through hearing about the journeys of others, was fading fast. No pressure there at all! To make matters worse I had already carried out some preliminary interviews with potential guests so I was fully aware just how exciting and interesting those that followed me were going to be. These women had crossed continents, built up million pound enterprises, restarted several careers and overcome terrible relationships, illnesses and destitution. In comparison, I felt my life looked minuscule and boring.

Then it dawned on me. I was beating myself up with that invisible yardstick again. You know the one you take to measure yourself against the standards you believe everyone is using to judge you.  I was labelling myself as unworthy, not good enough and wrong. Why because I feared being judged, being rejected. It's so easy to step into that pattern when we are confronted with a challenge because we have walked those floorboards so many times we've worn a groove in the surface. Consequently, if you step into it again you end up not only stuck in the groove, but also beening swept along the same channel to the same outcome you've arrived at many times before. That is, not doing something or taking a new/the next step because you're afraid.

The good news is that we only have to recognise and name what we are doing in order for us to stop, take stock and step back onto level ground. We may not know exactly what is around the corner; however we can choose to live in the moment and focus on what is, rather than what we've made up in our own heads. All we ever need to do is trust that we will be safe. Trust that if the universe does not provide us with a safety net, we already possess the resources to deal with whatever life throws at us.

So I guess I'm off to write my interesting moments. You can hear me tomorrow (21st September 2011 and all subsequent Wednesdays) between 4 PM and 6 PM by typing www.playvybz.com into your browser and then clicking on the “listen now” button.

I hope that you enjoy the show.

What has been the most unusual event in your life so far? Please share your thoughts and comments so others can benefit from your experiences. I look forward to reading them.