Acting on a Whim

Tuesday morning I was in tears. It wasn’t the first time over the last couple of days.

I was overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotion by the response to my giving back on my birthday offer. Nearly 50 generous people joined in, named their price for Boring Change, and contributed to the pot for Kiva lending.

Because of this generosity, the lives of up to 20 different people around the world are going to change. I’m so excited to choose recipients for the loans.

Because of this willingness to go for it, the lives of those 48 people are going to change too.

The Boring Change Kit isn’t your usual personal development product. It’s hard to describe, and the results can be so unbelievable you’ll “almost fall off your chair,” yet these people are willing to stop trying and start making changes in their life in a different way.

Knowing that they’ll be learning how to do this, thrills me beyond belief.

Then there were the notes.

A number of people included happy birthday wishes and thank you’s with their purchases.

Between this blog and the free calls I do every month, there are lots of opportunities for people to experience my work without me ever knowing their names. To get notes of gratitude from some of these people, when in my mind, they are the ones being generous, also brought tears and smiles.

So much love and appreciation all the way around.

But, guess what?

I almost didn’t do it.

I had the idea Saturday morning. And then I almost immediately started talking myself out of it.

There’s not enough time for people to respond.

I haven’t planned it well enough.

There’s too much to do to make it happen.

All of which were thinly veiled versions of the biggie:

What if no one joins in?

Apparently worrying about being disappointed is a theme for me these days. It’s not just me, it’s been coming up for many of my clients too.

So, once again I decided to be okay with the possibility of being disappointed. And, am I ever grateful I did.

How many ideas flit through your mind, that you never act on because you’re concerned about being disappointed?

I’m not sure if this is a “I just bought a red car, and now all I see are red cars” kind of thing, or if worry about disappointment is a prevalent as it seems.

What do you do about the possibility about being disappointed? Is it a concern for you? How often does it keep you from doing what you really want to do?

Photo: Rainy Sunny Rainbow over the St. Johns Bridge in Portland, Oregon. The weather on this first day of spring changed like my emotions over the weekend. Overall, happy rainbow.