How loud is it in your life? Not too long ago my life was extremely LOUD. I was death gripping relationships that had run their course. Taking employment opportunities that weren’t meant for growth and often diminished my spirit. And living in a fun house of smoke and mirrors. You would think that would be a perfect set-up for solitude and silence; but my world was louder than ever!
I had gotten to the point where I had warning signs at every turn… Calls from people I respected WARNING me not to take opportunities. Not being the priority for my highest priorities. Taking less pay for work I didn’t want in situations I wasn’t respected in. But I continued to keep moving in the direction of ‘hold it all together’ with the hope that things would work themselves out. What would happen to me if I didn’t? Not once did I ask myself what would happen to me if I did, if I just heeded the call to let it go, to redirect!
Here is the ugly truth my friends… If you don’t heed the calls, the multiple, relentless, deafening calls to redirect and move your life in another direction, the option will no longer be an option and the action will no longer be your decision to make. Eventually your life, that you are now simply taping, gluing and stapling together will be pulled apart by folks exiting on their own terms, most beneficial to them. Your employment opportunities will go from mediocre to nonexistent. And your life of smoke and mirrors will collapse. Why? Because you were warned. The ‘noise’ of discontent and mediocrity were attempting to get your attention to tell you “this is NOT for you.” I know it’s hard to hear and even harder to feel, when you’ve poured your life’s work, your love, your spirit into something only to discover ‘this is not your lane’ anymore. But the thing about it is, when life YELLS “this is NOT for you anymore,” it’s because there is something better suited for you, as you are now, and it’s time for you to be brave enough to obtain and receive it.
Are you still uncertain if I’m speaking to you? Is your world too loud? Is life trying to redirect you? Here are a few ways to find out:
- Do you look at other people’s lives and think ‘must be nice?’
- Are you constantly trying to pour energy into people and projects that wouldn’t return the favor if you were the last person on Earth?
- Are you scared to lose what you have, even if it’s not much? But too afraid of what will happen if you pursue more?
I’m sure you won’t be too surprised that it’s my contention that answering ‘yes’ to any of these questions means you’re living a LOUD life. Life is attempting to redirect you and you’re stuck because you’re managing the noise. Comeback to ambient sound! Here are the 7 steps to how I got there:
1. Let go… Think of it like Tug-Of-War! Have you ever been in a game of TOW and thought about having your side let go of the rope? This is your chance.
2. Let the players fall where they may… Just because one thing is going wrong doesn’t mean it’s all going wrong. But when you let go of your rope and there are still players standing on the other side (relationships, employment, finances, opportunities) those things make for your strongest foundation. Use the standing players to build your next chapter.
3. Audit your life after the fallout… What about the remaining players made their foundation so strong? The answer is always a direct reflection of you, your work, your energy, your architecture. What were those tools?
4. Take the tools and apply them to rebuild the fallen players… There should be an arsenal of tools to your successes, more dynamic than the tools that constructed your failures. Utilize those tools to rebuild your failures into successes.
5. Resolve that there is no where else you should be other than right here right now… Don’t you dare second guess your choices, or lament the idea that you shouldn’t have tuned out the warnings to make changes. You are always exactly where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there. Maybe you needed the extra time to mature to get to where you’re going!
6. Listen to the ambient sound… There is nothing more melodic, no sweeter sound, no greater serenity than that of ambient sound in your life. This does not mean that there is nothing going on. There may be more going on for you than ever before… In fact, I’m sure of it. But your life starts to harmonize in a way that the ‘noise’ is no longer the most prominent factor. You’ve silenced the noise and now your life has become aesthetic joy. Palpable, unmistakable, aesthetic joy!
7. Reflect on the journey from Noisey to Ambient… If you don’t know where you came from you won’t know where you’re going. And if you don’t consciously reflect on history, you’re destined to repeat it! So reflect, in whatever way is meaningful to you: journal, put it into art, BLOG about it. Be your own life teacher, because life is cyclical and there will come a time when your world starts to crescendo again. Will you know when it’s time to take these steps to comeback to ambient sound the next time? I hope we both will! Only next time we’ll mitigate the fallout because we’ve learned from our own life experiences!
I hope you found this helpful if you’re living a life that has become too loud! If you would like to share your ideas or experiences with the community please use #ComebackWithEricaCobb and SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube!