Overwhelmed?

Getting funding for a movie or accomplishing any major life goal for that matter, can be challenging at times and even overwhelming.  We begin with great excitement and then we lose steam.  Doubt finds its way into our lives and when challenges come up, it's easy to mistake them for signs that we need to quit.  In fact, I was raised to believe that when things become challenging God is telling you to back down or find a new direction.  I no longer believe this.  Life is an adventure and it's in our hands how we decide to pursue it.  Challenges make us stronger.  They define us and show us what we can truly accomplish.  They are not an end, but a beginning.

I recently had an extremely empowering situation that was all about challenge.  A local charity asked if I would participate in a "Dancing with the Stars" type of show.  Now, right up front I want to tell you that I've never danced.  I did not take ballet lessons as a child nor did I ever engage in any type of lessons--formal or informal.  The charity asked for my help and I agreed.  This involved my first ever dance lessons all geared towards a competition that would involve competing against people who have had lessons and some who had even competed in this event previously.  There reached a point where I felt overwhelmed.  There I was stomping about with two left feet while this very graceful (and I might add extremely patient) dance instructor walked my partner and I though steps that I just couldn't get to move from my brain into my feet.  I wanted to quit.  Actually, I wanted to scream, tear up something, scream some more, AND THEN QUIT.   But I didn't.  After a few more weeks, things began to feel better and I saw progress.  Then last Saturday I competed.  I didn't go home with a trophy, but I got a standing ovation, and I went home with a sense of achievement.  I had learned a dance, performed it in front of a group, and most important of all, I had pushed past the challenges.

During the past few months I've put a few projects on hold because I'd reach that point of feeling overwhelmed.  To be quite honest, I'd reverted to my old mindset of God closing the door.  But at the height of my frustration about the dance competition I had a flashback to turning point earlier in my career.  I had been walking down a hallway about to turn a corner when I heard two colleagues talking.  They were just around the corner and couldn't see me when one said, "Lynne has so much going for her.  Why doesn't take charge and really do something for this project?"  The other person replied, "She doesn't have it in her."  That was a defining moment for me back then and I continue to use it now.    The truth is that we all have what we need inside of us, but we let doubt get into our heads and we stop.  

Are you going to stop?  Am I going to stop?  NO.  The music is playing, the dance floor is ready, and if we just let ourselves free, we can dance with the best of them.  So, it's okay if you're overwhelmed.  It's not okay to stop because of it.

My dear readers, that means all of my projects are back on the table.