Eviction Notices for the Squatters

This session reminded me of the time when my traveling, free-spirited cousin spent time at the umbrella house. This was a communal house resurrected from the shell of a lovely abandoned building in downtown Manhattan. Over time, the house was taken over by a group of well-intentioned squatters. They bootlegged electricity, created makeshift beds, and even painted colorful umbrellas on the exterior of the house. I was awed at the irony (yes, and scared for her safety) when the cab dropped her off during a visit to New York, but was even more perplexed why the owner and police weren’t interested in the visitors who had invaded the building.

After tonight, I am convinced the squatters are one major obstacle to greater career success. We were born this beautiful shell of full potential and over time, we’ve allowed other people to move into our mind – our parents, partners, teachers, the bully on the playground, and all the accompanying experiences and expectations; both the good and bad. When it comes to asking what we want, how we want to show up in life, and taking the steps and accountability to reach new heights, the squatters start to speak up like they own the place….”an artist, are you crazy – you’ll never make a living” or “you’re not good at math, you can’t be an astronaut”. It’s no wonder so many people are struggling to make tethered career choices, we don’t know how to hear our own voice.

In the absence of self-awareness, we don’t have the ability to decipher our needs and wants, from those of the squatters. But that’s not all – unless you can get real with yourself, you walk through life making assumptions, perceiving yourself and others in an unrealistic light, and find it tough when it comes to navigating circumstances. In so many ways, self-awareness is the gateway to greater career success by redefining “how” you get things accomplished. It is not about giving up who you are, but bringing a deep self-understanding of your preferences, how you impact others, and an openness to employ a new emotion, behavior or belief to create a new career potential. (Sorry, this has the pungent smell of preaching, so I’ll move on.)

So, tonight – we had a group of doers show up, including myself. We are a society that takes heed of those who accomplish things, so taking the time to slow down, ask yourself questions, and quiet the mind is met with thoughts of being self-indulgence, frivolous, and the word impatience surely comes to mind. We were all supposed to pick an activity (walking, meditating, journaling) to incorporate into our repertoire and most of us have spotty success in this category. Most of us found ourselves focusing on more pressing things - mostly kids, work & outside commitments. It's so easy to put our own needs in the backseat. In all fairness, we had one person who started journaling, a few who took walks, but for most, quieting the mind was as appealing as kissing a frog – even if you know there’s a prince on the other side.

But, that’s okay. The process of talking out loud and having folks ask us questions is proving more powerful than we could have imagined. There’s a collective sign, and we commit to try some new tactics before we come back together again. But only after we acknowledge the squatters and start the eviction process.

Look for moving boxes in your neighborhood.