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Jan 22

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That scary feeling

Today I interrupted myself in the middle of a pattern – jumping into something too soon, not feeling totally prepared, trying to give away too much of myself because I wasn’t totally centered in my own space yet…wanting people to like me.

Not only did I interrupt it, but it happened in a moment when I was writing, so I wrote about it.

As I look back on what happened today, I think it’s so important that I’m going to do something that I don’t think I’ve ever done before – repeat the text from one of my e-newsletters here on the Journal.  It’s that important a lesson.

(Before I go any further, I’d like to invite you to join my weekly newsletter where I share my thoughts on life lessons, miracles, and anything else that crosses my mind.  You can subscribe by clicking here.)

So here goes:

What’s that funny feeling in my chest?

I’m writing this newsletter 20 minutes before it’s supposed to land in your inbox.  Procrastination?  Actually, no.  I had a whole other newsletter written and ready to go.

But every time I thought about it today, I got agitated.  My chest felt all tight and my face pinched up like I might cry.  At first, I wrote it off to stress at work.  But when I went into the newsletter to make a final tweak before sending, I started having trouble getting a deep breath.

Time to pay attention – what IS that funny feeling in my chest??? 

nervesI identified that it was nerves; next question – is this good nerves or bad nerves?  Sometimes nerves show up when we’re pushing beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone, and that’s great.  But sometimes nerves show up to tell us that it’s time reconsider the direction we’re headed in.  The fact that I felt like I was going to cry and couldn’t breathe are sure indicators that this is my warning system showing up.

So I gave myself some options – I could relanguage the newsletter so it didn’t trigger my internal alarm bells.  Nope, still couldn’t breathe.  I could postpone sending it until tomorrow so that I could spend more time thinking about it.  Nope, still had the tightness in my chest and the feeling I was going to cry.  I could scrap that newsletter and write something else for you today.

BINGO!!!  The need to cry instantly disappeared, my chest relaxed, and I could breathe again.  In an instant!  It’s a miracle!  🙂

Hot ears? Restless legs? Everybody’s bodily warning system is different, but we’ve all got one. It’s time to start listening!  (click to tweet)

It’s time to start respecting the wisdom our body has to share with us.

As I was writing this replacement newsletter, it occurred to me that the other one was probably the right newsletter at the wrong time.  Chances are good that I’ll send it out sometime soon when the time is right – and I’ll know the time is right when I feel happy tears about sending it!!

Today’s miracle: Paying attention to my body’s signals so I knew that an action wasn’t the right one to take.

About the author

Leah Carey

Leah Carey is the Chief Miracle Officer of The Miracle Journal, where she writes about the large and small miracles that happen in her life every day. She is a life coach, speaker, journalist, freelance writer, and lover of life. In all of those pursuits, she works with people to identify what’s already right in your life so you can build an even more joyful and fulfilling daily experience from that foundation. You can find her on Facebook, , Twitter, and YouTube.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.leahcarey.com/themiraclejournal/2013/01/22/that-scary-feeling/