There's something that powers vibrance. Something we need to cultivate to become vibrant in life.

In the next 7 weeks, we’re going to explore some Wild Ideas in pursuit of a VIBRANT life. You may have seen our #BeVibrant theme on social media. We’re getting ready to tackle some pretty cool techniques called Emotional Agility, and HeartMath and more. They’re designed to help us show up well for ALL of our emotions (not just the “nice ones” and to become vibrant and self-powered positive energy beacon (instead of being increasingly drained by the toxic, draining emotions of those around us).

But if we’re going to bravely face the messages inside of our emotions, and bring authentic positive emotions to a stress-ridden world; we need to work from a place of knowing our own value. Not needing to be perfect, but believing that our authentic selves is worth expressing and that who we really are has value.

We need an inner source of stability and strength. An “enoughness” that gives us the power to face the world as it is.

Brené Brown calls this enoughness “whole-heartedness.” Timothy Keller describes it as “emotional wealth.”

What do you call it?

If someone hurts you, tells you no, or seems to thwart your progress in life, how do you react? Does it feel like they pulled the rug out from under you? Do they trigger a spiral of discouragement, anger, or ratchet up your growing stress level?

Do you find yourself on the “last straw” more often than you’d like?

In this week’s Free Facebook Live coaching, we introduced the Wild Idea that emotions are temporary messengers, and claimed that every emotion carries a valuable message that will enrich your life and serve to help you if you listen effectively to it. 

We’re going to teach you to listen, how to get the value from your emotions, rather than getting carried away on the tide of their energy. But if you’re going to do that with us, you’ll need 2 things: Guts and Strength.

REQUIRED: Guts + Strength

The guts part comes from being brave enough to be vulnerable...to be willing to hear a message that might be scary, uncomfortable, or which might force you to change. 

But the strength comes from knowing you have value, knowing it isn’t your performance that makes you matter. Having an identity that establishes your worth.

Strength from Relationships

Often we look to relationships to know we matter. We can find great comfort and strength in loving and affirming relationships of all kinds (from friendly interactions with strangers to life-long bonds of family or friendship). The quality of the relationship determines the amount of stability it gives us. Inevitable fluctuations in the health and vibrance of our relationships can flummox our strength and stability. But they are a powerful source.

Strength From Meaning + Transcendence

From well being research, the other direction we can go for this stability is meaning and transcendence. What is the meaning of you being here in this world? What is the part of you that transcends this physical world or the pursuit of accomplishments. Researchers discuss this dimension of our human experience as “spirituality.” Our need for this sense of value based in a reality that transcends the material world is part of why spirituality is a well-recognized piece of the puzzle for being truly well. 

Here at Wild + Brave we’re not going to tell you what your value should be. But if you go looking for it, the search for it will mean you own your meaning...that the strength of transcendence can actually be yours. 

We need this whole-hearted, emotional wealth. The enoughness to know we matter in the world, regardless of our momentary circumstances. 

DO IT YOURSELF:

The DIY approach to this week’s Wild + Brave Challenge is to take some time to reflect and search for what you see as your value. What makes you matter. Prime your brain to do good thinking by being hydrated, moving your body (before or even during reflection time), or consider writing or typing up thoughts to help your distracted brain stay engaged long enough to find what you really think. If you’re not big on writing, try thinking out loud, talking to the family dog on a walk or asking a friend to be your thinking partner for this exploration.

• Hydrate
• Move
• Breathe
• Write/Type
• Think Out Loud

NEED SOME HELP?

This is not your average Wild + Brave question. Getting to clear thinking about how you can know your value, and finding this inner stability is challenging. Past experiences, current stressors, and general mental fog or fatigue can all crop up to complicate this reflective process. 

There is a great deal of power in together. Talk with someone you trust and let the buddy system help you break through some of the barriers. If you’d like the help of a coach, I’m here for you as well. You can even grab a Free Coaching Session to work on this one if you like. It’s a crucial piece of your Vibrance; I’ll make the time to explore if you will.

We can’t always be worried about performance, productivity, and action. Sometimes we need to pull back and check the foundation, to make sure we have what we need to be stable and healthy as we onboard new strategies.

Feel free to watch the replay of this week’s Free Coaching (below) to think about this some more. May you have freshness and clarity as you seek this inner stability. It’s important to shore up your strength; I bet you’re dealing with a lot. May your inner strength and stability grow, and make you truly vibrant.

Go be Wild + Brave,

Coach Morgan

Today's Featured Photo:

Today's featured image is from Morgan's hike along the Virgin River, in Zion National Park, Utah. To this day it's still one of her favorite watery hikes. People hike through the water year round (with the right gear of course).

For fun, here are a few more of Morgan's photos from Zion, including another hike up the famous Angel's Landing trail, and her favorite furry hat.