Embracing Imperfection: Messy Can Be Beautiful

Today’s episode is a little different. I’m sharing a chapter in progress from my upcoming book. I Get To the Power of Energetic Choice and while this version isn’t final, I’m learning how valuable it is to let things be seen before they’re done.

There’s a belief many of us carry that we have to be polished and perfect before we show up. That fear of being seen in progress. Boy oh boy, it runs deep. But here’s the truth, and it’s learning in real time. Messy can be beautiful and sometimes unfinished is exactly what others need to see. We teach what we most need to learn right. So today I’m practicing what I preach. This chapter, and it’s brief, is called what is Energetic Choice. So here it is.

 

 

This isn’t a book about decision making, but if you do have a decision to make, you’ll want to keep reading. Energetic choice is not about a destination to arrive at, but rather a place to come from. It’s about increasing your capacity for choice by creating a grounded, connected foundation from which to approach well everything. Decision-making by nature implies black and white thinking. If I say yes to this, I must be saying no to that. It can feel reductive and fear-inducing, and often the pressure to just make a decision becomes the goal itself, rather than intentionally considering what’s truly aligned. And you know? Here’s the thing. You can even put decision making through my choice capacitor. Here’s how it might look. I can’t make a decision. It’s too hard. I have to make a decision, or somebody else will. I should make a decision. Everybody’s waiting. What’s the matter with me? Pause, here, I should is the tipping point. Slow down, lose the shame. And you’re standing in. I could. I could make a decision. I’ve got the tools and I’m capable. I want to make a decision because, no matter the outcome, I’ll learn and grow. I get to make a decision because I am the agent of my life, living a created life.

A fellow coach once told me that my energetic choice capacitor reminded him of Doc Brown’s time machine in Back to the Future. I’m okay with that, because if Doc’s iconic flux capacitor could take you back in time to alter the present, the energetic choice capacitor can change your future by harnessing your energy and centering you in the now. You know, the truth is, I passed through each of these energetic choices before arriving at the decision to share this today. I can’t think of anything to write for the show. I have to publish something. I should be better at planning my release schedule.

Once I let go of the shame around not having it all figured out, I saw that I could share something meaningful and that maybe what I’m working on right now is exactly what someone needs to hear From there. It was easy to shift into I want to, because I was genuinely excited about offering this. And now here I am in choice with gratitude, energetically charged because I get to. Thanks for being here with me today. I’m Lisa Hopkins. Stay safe and healthy and remember to live in the moment.

Listen to Audio Version here!

Lisa Hopkins
Certified Professional Life Coach and Energy Leadership Master Practitioner -CANADA
Lisa is an ICF Certified Professional Life Coach and Energy Leadership Master Practitioner at Wide Open Stages. She specializes in partnering with highly successful creative people who want to be challenged and inspired to become artists in all areas of their lives. A passionate creative professional herself, Lisa has over 25 years experience working in the performing arts industry as a director/choreographer, producer, writer and dance educator in NYC, nationally and internationally. She is dance faculty at Pace University NYC in the Commercial Dance and Musical Theater BFA programs, and is co-founder of New York Stage Originals, an internationally recognized theatrical production company. Lisa hosts the popular podcast STOPTIME: Live in the Moment and is founder of Wide Open Stages, where she coaches high-performing creatives in the performing arts industry.

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Lisa Hopkins

Lisa is an ICF Certified Professional Life Coach and Energy Leadership Master Practitioner at Wide Open Stages. She specializes in partnering with highly successful creative people who want to be challenged and inspired to become artists in all areas of their lives. A passionate creative professional herself, Lisa has over 25 years experience working in the performing arts industry as a director/choreographer, producer, writer and dance educator in NYC, nationally and internationally. She is dance faculty at Pace University NYC in the Commercial Dance and Musical Theater BFA programs, and is co-founder of New York Stage Originals, an internationally recognized theatrical production company. Lisa hosts the popular podcast STOPTIME: Live in the Moment and is founder of Wide Open Stages, where she coaches high-performing creatives in the performing arts industry.