Sabbatical Resistance–Your Internal Negative Voice

My last post dealt with resistance you might expect from others. There’s another kind of resistance that’s more powerful and sinister. It can rear its ugly head when we least expect it and it lives and breathes inside all of us. I’ve heard it referred to as our internal saboteur or gremlin by The Coach’s Training Institute. Teaching coaches how to name it and tame it is one of this respected coach training school’s most powerful tools. Perhaps this is because the founders of CTI realized that few of us escape its negative influence.

Here’s what mine looked and sounded like. He was a raven who knew my doubts and fears and just where to pick and peck.
“You’re a sole proprietor. If you close up shop for a month, you may not have any business when you return. What if you miss a fabulous opportunity? What if your clients really need help and you’re not there. They’ll feel abandoned and probably find someone else to work with. And when you come back, how will you ever catch up? What will you do about cash flow for a month? What if you realize you don’t even want to come back? Then what? What if you worry the whole time and negate the whole experience? You know you really don’t deserve this.”

Sound familiar? So what can you do to quiet the vicious beast and make your sabbatical plans with a confidence and a positive attitude?

The first step is to make a declaration to yourself and the world. Our language doesn’t just describe our reality—it creates it. It will sound something like this.

“I, Rebecca Bradley, hereby declare that I will renew my spirit, clear my mind, rest my body, and feed my soul by spending a month away from work. This time will be designed thoughtfully so that I am refreshed and replenished and ready to return to work with new energy, creativity, and productivity.

It’s a good idea to actually write your declaration on an index card and read it aloud frequently during your planning phase. It will give you focus and announce to your internal negative voice that you mean business and will not be deterred.

Here’s how one of my retreat participants expressed it.

”I am signing up for the Success Beyond Measure retreat. Why would I do this in a time of such economic challenge? As the old tag line from L’Oreal said — “Because I’m worth it!” If I don’t invest in myself, who else will?”

Reflection questions:
1. What is your internal negative voice saying?
2. What declaration are you willing to make?

What I realized (and I hope you will too), is that I am worth it and I do deserve it. More to come on my sabbatical experience…