Ask anyone on my staff, the first rule of Fight Club is: Don’t abandon your cell phone. And the second rule of Fight Club is: Don’t abandon your cell phone.
For years now, if you’ve seen me running around our Hay House events, you’ve seen me wearing my phone around my neck!
I’m always wearing dresses and never have pockets. So when I finally found the perfect lanyard that works with the iPhone, it literally changed my life. Gone are the days of setting my phone somewhere then running off in a rush to look for an author or put out a fire, only to “come to” 5 stops later and have to backtrack in my mind to where I left it.
Last Wednesday night, as I was repacking my bag, I realized that I couldn’t find my phone lanyard anywhere – which was especially odd since I always put it in the exact same place when I take it off. Panic ensued. I dug everywhere – through everything. Had I somehow left it in the San Jose hotel the other day after the last conference? Did I actually lose it? I mean I don’t lose things!
I immediately looked online to see if I could order a new one and have it arrive the next day in Austin – where I was headed for our next conference. The company is a tiny operation and there were no expedited shipping options online and when I called them I just kept getting an endless busy signal.
And then I remembered that my Event Manager Mollie had one and since she wasn’t going to Austin, she’d be able to spare it.
But…in order to get it, I’d have to first confess that I’d lost mine.
No matter how ridiculous this might seem, there was a time not so long ago when the fear of revealing any need or imperfection – even about losing something – would have far outweighed my desire or ability to ask for help.
As I was texting Mollie to see if she could bring her lanyard into the office to send with Jen to Austin for me, I had to actually stop and take a moment to acknowledge my massive breakthrough.
By letting down my guard, I had finally crossed the threshold and relaxed into the place where exposing myself as human – especially to someone close to me – was no longer a threat but rather an invitation for someone to help me, for a change.
If we’re overly concerned with perceptions of others and we we don’t allow others to help us, we rob them – and ourselves – of the opportunity to fully participate in the interconnected flow of giving and receiving.
So I used Mollie’s lanyard in Austin and I have a few more on order so that I can always carry spares!
Think about the ways in which the fear of removing your mask of self-sufficiency prevents you from having everything you want and need. The guaranteed by-product benefit will always be more transparent and fulfilling relationships with others…and yourself.
