Making It Happen or Allowing It to Unfold?

As I work on my big ideas for 2009, I often find myself caught in a tug of war between making something happen and allowing it to unfold.

Throughout my life, I have often been rewarded for making things happen. I completed schoolwork, joined committees, held leadership roles. I was busy, busy, busy. And the emotional and financial rewards followed.

What I am realizing now is that those well-rewarded actions were always contained within a fairly tight set of parameters. Even the leadership roles were within organizations that had missions, precedents, and traditions. Now that I am seeking to fulfill a mission of my own, the parameters are less defined. And precedents and traditions only exist within the models set by others.

Also true of my past achievements was that the other people involved were in place before I got there. I would step into a role and take action with or for those people. Now that I am setting my own course, the other people have yet to appear, which they will do only at my invitation.

As I walk this path of following my heart and creating my destiny, it often feels like I am pushing on a string. I no longer have the luxury of a predictable outcome when taking an action. There are too many unknowns to set parameters, and other people may or may not accept my invitation.

Thus, I find myself in a position of allowing things to unfold--not easy for an over-achiever, but perfect nonetheless.

Consider that there is a continuum between Making It Happen and Allowing It to Unfold. What if I seek a balance, sometimes taking action on the make-it-happen side, and sometimes sitting still on the allow-it-to-unfold side. As a continuum, there can be more or less acting, or more or less stillness in any given moment.

Accepting this balance, I needn't be pushing on a string or feeling the resulting frustration. Rather, that time and energy can be spent listening, meditating, or thinking--intentional, receptive activities. Within such moments, perhaps the parameters and the people have a chance to show up. And maybe some inspiration, light, and joy, too.

What a concept!