I just finished a great book, which came highly recommended by a fellow coach – The Surrender Experiment by Michael A Singer.  From start to finish, it describes a path of purposefully surrendering to the moment.  The author unintentionally started the experiment in order to quiet the chatter in his head.  Essentially, he practiced taking each moment as it presented itself; rather than trying to control the future, he accepted the reality in front of him, making the choices necessary in the moment.

(Photo to right:  Standing on the edge of infinity with my son at Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away)

A few months ago, without realizing it, I did my own surrender experiment while visiting a friend, an artist who is definitely better able to surrender to the moment than I am.  By saying “yes” to activities I might normally say “no” to, I opened myself up to an incredible hike in Black Moshannon forest, peering on the osprey & heron on the lake, and then hearing some great music at a dive bar in State College.

So, yes, it was a good experiment for me, except … that little voice in my head that says “This is not practical!”, “No time for this!” – was alive & well!

Ask yourself this – when you have the opportunity to encounter something new & foreign, will you embrace it?  Or, choose safe & comfortable?  Choosing the new will be uncomfortable, but we grow in experiences like those.

My coaching clients are often hyper-focused on meeting the goals in front of them.  This focus, while of course necessary, sometimes prevents us from seeing what’s on the periphery which could present interesting challenges.  Each moment brings us those opportunities.

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