Becoming Your Own Role Model

(air whooshing) (mouse clicks) (bright music) Headspace Studios. (ethereal music) Hello, world, welcome back to Radio Headspace and to Wednesday. So, I recently started teaching a weekly meditation class at my friend's new studio in Inglewood, California, which, I will say, I had been manifesting for two years. But I'll speak on this in another episode. Last week, I was speaking to the different stories that play out in our minds. There's the stories we tell that liberate us, and then there's the stories that we tell that cause us more struggling and strife. And so, I asked the group, what are the stories you tell yourself that keep you stuck? One lady who, as soon as she walked into the studio, I felt her wisdom and presence. Maybe it was the black leather jacket she was wearing or her slicked-back gray hair. But she had an energy that felt very wise. You know the type of person I'm talking about. So when it came to her time to share in the circle, she said she's been telling herself how she'll never become who she hopes to be. And then she briefly paused and said, "And this is a burden and a freedom because who I'm wanting to become, there's no reference point for. I'm becoming something I've never seen, and this also gives me the freedom to create that." Now, I'm not kidding you, but there were no dry eyes in that room after she had said that. And the collective exhale was palpable. (rain pattering) I think what resonated so deeply with everyone is when we're in pursuit of creating ourselves, of becoming something, oftentimes, we can get discouraged because we know where we're going but we may not have a tangible vision for what we're after. We have this deep, profound sense of a calling, and yet, that calling may not have a physical form just yet. I have a journal entry from my fourth and final year of nursing school where I shared a similar story. I wrote, "I can't lie. I have this undeniable, unshakeable fear of what my life will be once I'm done with school. Although I am a dedicated and committed student of life, this institutional burden has stuck with me since I was five. That's almost 22 years of identifying with this role. And as I prepare to complete my degree, this fear of what's next continues to grow stronger." I vividly remember my thoughts around, am I in the right field? Have I made the right decision? Is this my true calling or am I just settling for what I know and what I've been told? At the same time, my community events were beginning to take off, and that stirring of teaching meditation full-time was turning into an eruption in my heart. I was constantly thinking about what this other thing could turn into. And sometimes, what we're after requires us to be the blueprint. We're being invited to become...