I want to share a story with you that was a turning point in my life.
About 2 years ago I was getting ready to go to a seminar in Texas that was about breaking through the inner limitations holding you back. I had to wake up very early in the morning to catch my flight. But, I had been so nervous and anxious all night that I barely slept.
First of all, I am not a big fan of flying…. But what was really going on was WAY bigger than my discomfort about flying.
I get up and shower. I am thinking of about every possible excuse why I am NOT going to go to this seminar…I really don’t want to be away from my kids…they need me. I have so much work to do around the house, I need to stay here. My husband is so busy at work, I need to stay here to help him.
Then something happened that really made me question going…my daughter wakes up and starts throwing up. Ok, that’s it, I can’t go. I mean what kind of mom would I be???
My husband convinces me to go and assures me that it will all be taken care of.
I get on the bus to the airport and I am sweating, my heart is racing. I do NOT want to get on that plane!
I get to the airport…still sweating. I keep thinking…it’s not too late to turn back. I can just get back on the bus and go home.
I walk into the bathroom and go into a stall. I start crying, I mean balling my eyes out. I wonder what is going on here? I know I don’t like to fly but this is the most intense anxiety I have ever felt before getting on the plane.
I start to think…what if this is a “sign”…what if my body is trying to tell me NOT to get on the plane? What if it’s going to crash???
I start praying and then weirdly I remember the movie We Bought a Zoo. I remember Matt Damon’s character saying that you only need 30 seconds of courage to change your life. I start praying for that courage to get on the plane. I can’t even describe the amount of fear and anxiety that I was feeling in my body. I start chanting to myself I am courageous…I am courageous…I am courageous.
I hear the boarding call for my flight. I keep chanting over and over again with tears rolling down my face and I go and get on the plane.
Now, it wasn’t until I got to the seminar that I understood what was really happening to me…
About 2 hours in to the seminar it become crystal clear what was really going on. The instructor called it the Terror Barrier.
The Terror Barrier is what you hit right before you have a breakthrough. The bigger the breakthrough opportunity…the more intense the fear and anxiety.
You see the terror barrier is actually caused by YOU. A part of you that feels VERY threatened by change. This part of you will create anything and everything possible to distract you, make you question what you are doing, and basically try to get you to STOP going for your breakthrough.
It’s SO SO sneaky. I could have easily mistaken all the fear and anxiety I was feeling before my flight as a sign NOT to go. I could have easily said that I need to cancel my trip because my daughter was “sick”. The funny thing is that I talked to my husband later and he said after I left the house she did NOT throw up again! WHAT????
And IF you give into the terror barrier and STOP moving forward or stop taking the action to get you to the breakthrough you make it even HARDER to breakthrough the next time. Because this part of you knows exactly where you stopped in the past and it will pull the same tricks to get you to stop again!!!!
I want you to realize that there is ALWAYS a breakdown before a breakthrough! That is the process. But do NOT confuse the breakdown with needing to STOP! You will screw yourself over.
Signs that you know you are about the have a breakthrough resemble all hell breaking loose! You have a family member get sick or ill, you get sick, a car breaks down, a pipe bursts in your house, your childcare “falls through”… I think you get the picture.
The KEY is that you do NOT let it stop you or distract you! This is a sign to keep moving forward!
After I went to that seminar I had a HUGE breakthrough in relation to my relationship money and the amount I was creating.
I want you to think about what is going on in your life right now…are you on the verge of going to a new level in your business? Are you about to leave a longterm relationship that is sucking the life out of you? Is there an opportunity for a breakthrough coming up and you have hit the terror barrier?
How are you handling it? Are you backing down or moving forward?
With Courage,
Colleen
Thank you for this post! I love your vulnerability and how open you are about sharing your story! It is truly empowering. Much love to you!
I am so glad you enjoyed the article, Lauren! 🙂
Wow Colleen what a great article! I can totally relate and you are so right. When I decided to write my book, all hell broke loose. I got very sick and then fell, hit my head, got a concussion and then fell again shortly afterwards. I had to take off for a few weeks and then I got right back to what I was doing. In the past something like this has stopped me, because I thought it was a sign.
Thanks, Taylor! I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Congrats on moving forward and not letting those circumstances stop you!!!