Amsterdam Here I Come!
When the opportunity came up for me to go to Amsterdam, I felt so excited at the idea, but of course within seconds my internal critic popped up.
“You can’t afford that!”
“What about the kids?”
“You’re just going to leave? What about life here?”
“What about the baby? You can’t travel with a baby?”
And in the past, that would have been enough for me to abandon that excitement for something more ‘realistic’, something ‘safer’. I would have sat at home feeling sorry for myself that I didn’t get to go, and so many others did. I would have been jealous and told myself how lucky the people who could afford it, or who didn’t have kids and could just travel wherever they wanted. And if I heard about how people worked to afford it or had kids and still made the choice to go, I would have found some other excuse about why they had the opportunity to go and I didn’t. I would have lived in the world of ‘If only I could, then I would, but I can’t because A,B,C, and don’t forget D!”
What I’ve learned over the years is that my brain is wired to keep me safe. It is wired to tell me all the reasons I can’t do something, or how it’s safer not to. But what I’ve also learned is a lot of times those things it tells me aren’t true. And while some of them may have been at one time, they aren’t anymore.
So when that critic came up to curb my excitement, I challenged them. Can I really not afford it? Turns out I could. What about the kids? They spend two weeks at their dads' each summer, and we hadn’t planned the schedule yet, so why not see if we can make it work? Was I going to just leave, what about my life here. Yes, yes, I was, and my life here would still be here when I got back. I can’t travel with a baby? Why not? People do it all the time! Just because I haven’t done it before doesn’t mean I can’t do it.
The idea of me being able to go was a little bit scary, but a lot exciting. So I let myself be excited. I booked the trip, and I told my family and friends. They were all excited. My mom and sister were so excited they decided to join me, we even decided to go for longer and make it a little girls’ trip. I talked to friends who have travelled with babies and got some tips and tricks. A girlfriend who lives in Amsterdam reached out and gave me all the places to explore and see while I was there.
Today, as I am packing the last couple of things into my bags, it’s not lost on me that all this excitement came from that one choice. The choice to challenge my inner critic, to challenge my status quo. My choice to pick courage over comfort.
It’s said we create our reality, and our reality is where we live each moment of every day. So today, I invite you to create yours from a place of excitement over fear. To challenge your critic and step outside your comfort zone, just for today, and see where that takes you. because I truly believe that is where the magic happens!