Kristin Rath 11/13/18 Kristin Rath 11/13/18

Reach your greatest potential by answering this one question

The wisdom in the way the question was phrased was that it released me from answering based on what was within my reach. The beauty of the question was that it addressed my heart and soul. The question gave me freedom and safety to speak truthfully. The question asked me to be limitless.

“What would you do if you COULD NOT fail?”

In January 2016, I was taking Sonia Ricotti’s Unsinkable course when she asked that question in a lesson called “Step Into Your Greatness.”

I didn’t want to answer it at first because it sounded like a trick question. Because of course there would be challenges and setbacks and really dark moments...it’s LIFE, right? And following your dreams does NOT make the roller coaster ride of life any smoother.

But...the wisdom in the way the question was phrased was that it released me from answering based on what was within my reach. The beauty of the question was that it addressed my heart and soul. The question gave me freedom and safety to speak truthfully. The question asked me to be limitless.

So I answered. The first few times, what came up was aspirational but still superficial. I answered with labels and milestones: I would be a best-selling author, I would be a world-renown speaker, I would be a billion-dollar brand...blah blah blah.

Then Sonia asked the question one final time: “What would you do if you could not fail?” She asked us not to think but to respond. I finally shut out the logical and egotistical voices and asked Kristin, at her core, what she would do. What would I do if nothing could possibly stop me? The answer was shocking:

I would heal the world.

At first I cried because my answer resonated so strongly. Then I laughed because it seemed so ridiculous. Then I panicked because to follow this path would require me to grow waaaaay past my comfort zone and fail in a major way. Total crazy pants situation.

How the heck was that going to happen? And what did “heal the world” even mean? Did I have to become a doctor or a missionary now? What am I supposed to do with this answer???

Then that wise voice broke through again and encouraged me to just sit with my soul-shaking response.

It asked me to welcome in Ms. Heal the World as I would welcome a guest to my home—make her comfortable and reserve any judgments until I got to know her. See if I wanted to continue the friendship and welcome her into my life. I didn’t have to do anything right away or commit myself to a decision. Just be open.

So I gave myself permission to see my incredibly audacious Heal the World answer as a curious new friend, and allowed myself the freedom to imagine how this could play out.

Eventually, some answers bubbled up that addressed the “how” of my desire to Heal the World. Like:

Continuing on my journey of self-discovery so that I could be my best self in order to help others one day.
Listening and being there for the people I care about because I could make a difference in someone’s life right now.
Getting good at catching negative self-talk and choosing supportive talk instead.
Uncovering the limiting beliefs I was hanging onto because they were “comfortable” but keeping me from the life I wanted.

Each choice and each step I made toward the concept of healing the world made that idea more comfortable, and more importantly, possible in my mind.

That tiny shift in allowing my soul’s desire to be possible started the ball rolling. Instead of pushing away my “crazy” idea, I gave it the freedom to stay, play, and grow. It wasn’t a physical action, it was a mental one. And incredibly powerful.

Any change you want for yourself requires you to think about things differently than you have before. Change starts with you, from within, and begins with a mental choice.

I lovingly challenge you to CHOOSE to allow yourself TO BE LIMITLESS.

Don’t ask HOW right now. Ask WHAT.

What would YOU do if you could not fail?

Declare your answer in the comments and share your reaction to seeing it written out.

I’d love to support you!

Kristin Rath 10/14/18 Kristin Rath 10/14/18

Leave your luggage at the baggage claim. You'll be glad you did.

I am not a “carry-on only” traveler. When I fly, I always have a suitcase to check. It doesn’t matter if I’m only going to be gone a few days. I like to be prepared. I like to have options. The times I’ve tried to streamline the contents of my luggage, I’ve really regretted it.

There is a type of baggage I can do without, though. The *emotional* baggage kind.

There is a type of baggage I can do without, though. The *emotional* baggage kind. These pieces of luggage are packed full of the dramas, traumas, and hangups we hold onto and use as evidence to shape our view of life and our role in it. Together they form limiting belief systems that block us from getting what we truly want.

It doesn’t matter if the contents of our suitcases are dumped in or rolled up neatly into packing cubes (h/t to the Marie Kondo method). Emotional baggage is heavy and costly. It puts a strain on our health, happiness, relationships, finances, and career.

Why do we insist on dragging emotional baggage around with us in the first place? Maybe because we’ve worked hard to pack it. The items have experiential value to us, even if the cost of keeping it around is higher than the original price tag.

Emotional baggage is also sneaky because we’ve been carrying it around so long, it’s almost comfortable. Weird, right? Our limiting thoughts and stories can become normal and part of us. We think: That’s just the way life is.

But is it???

One of my limiting beliefs was that achieving a high level of success came with too many tradeoffs to be worth it. I saw examples in the world and in my imagination of people at the top of their game who were under tons of stress, had jam-packed schedules, and no time for the people and things that gave them joy. I wanted the “idea” of success. But I also didn’t want the “reality” of the life I imagined came with that level of excellence. So I was subconsciously canceling out what I wanted because of my limiting beliefs attached to it!

Was my stressed out version of success a reality for some people? Yes. Is that version the only way it could materialize? No. Could I be a successful person who sees the work she does as Play With Purpose, designs her life in a way that recharges and energizes her, who makes time for what matters, who is able to face whatever challenges come her way with integrity and faith in the best possible outcome...and is a rock star at what she does and has the paycheck to reflect that? Yes.

YES. YAAASSSSSS!

That’s the conversation I’m having with myself when those sneaky, self-limiting thoughts threaten to pull down my goals and dreams.

Uh-uh. Nope. Not on my watch.

We can choose differently. There was a time we didn’t have those negative beliefs. What would happen if we ditched them all? Left them to circle the baggage claim into eternity? What would we really lose?

We’d have a whole lot more to gain. Freedom and flexibility from a lighter load; openness from the space no longer occupied by resentment, anger, fear, hurt, and insecurity.

So what can we do to unlearn our old ways? We can let go of our destructive beliefs, replace them one by one with reflections of the life we DO want, and start living in alignment with a higher consciousness. Repetition will solidify those practices of self-love into a new reality over time. We’ll have an upgraded belief system. One that is baggage-free.

There’s joy and peace in living on the lighter (baggage) side. My goal is to go carry-on only. Heck, maybe I’ll get to the point where I’m traveling this life with nothing but a light sweater and sunglasses. (I’ve still gotta be prepared with options, after all).

What about you? Are you ready to lighten your luggage load?

Here are some empowering questions to ponder:

What’s one limiting belief you’re ready to let go of?
How would it feel to be free of that baggage?
How would your life positively change?