It's Just a Shoe!

Are you one of those people who feels a bit anxious when things get really, reaaaaaallly good? Do you habitually cover your proverbial head, waiting for the other shoe to drop? Ugh. Don't you just hate that? It's one thing to be awake and aware that the unexpected does and will occur, but to go through life braced for it, afraid to risk and truly LIVE? That's debilitating.

I call it The Other Shoe Syndrome (TOSS). We work diligently and successfully to create the life we dream of, only to arrive at the door and feel too paralyzed to actually embrace and enjoy it. There seems to always be “more to do” or some “next thing” lurking around the corner that could go wrong. It's sometimes so subtle it's almost undetectable, except that it constantly stifles our JOY. We could be in the best relationship, career, or adventure of our life, and we're so busy preparing for the worst to happen that we hold back, hold on, and hold still when we could be living our bliss!
The good news is, The Other Shoe Syndrome is learned behavior and it can be un-lea
ed. It may have been installed by someone, somewhere doing their best to protect us and not wanting us to “get our hopes up”, or it may have been rooted through our own personal disappointment and failure and we're ducking to avoid the pain again. That's just human nature, although unfortunately, if we're ducking, we're crouched down, covering our head (and our arse!) and we're not fully LIVING!

The reality is, if we're breathing at ALL, a myriad of things are going to happen anyway, because...well, that's just life. AND, guess what? It's JUST A SHOE! If something goes wrong, we'll handle it. We always have, because that's what we do. Yes, we have experienced discomfort, disappointment and pain, and we may have had to get help, let go, or start over, but if we're still here, we handled it! And if we used it well, we learned and grew from it, which is meant to be used for the good, not to hide from the bad.

So, YES...go ahead and enjoy all the goodness right NOW! And trust. If and when you're detoured by falling shoes, you'll be much better equipped to handle it if you're feeling empowered and worthy of all the yummyness you've created for yourself. You deserve to hold your head up and live your goodness! Celebrate your success. Do your happy dance. Enjoy your JOY! And if you start to feel that nagging little worry again, remember...it's just a SHOE!