Upleveling is Messy.

Be open to the mess.

I recently told my story during a keynote presentation about hitting my own upper limit.

I was 44 and, as a high achiever, I didn’t like that I hit the end of my checklist very much.

There had to be something more for me, right?

In other words, I was feeling burned out and washed up. Not a great feeling but pretty typical as we enter midlife.

What was left for me? What was next?

And then one day, as these negative thoughts began to consume me, I was walking across my bedroom — on a mission to keep moving through life pretending like I wasn’t having an existential crisis — and I tripped on the pant leg of my baggy pajama bottoms and I fell — hard. It hurt. I started to sob.

That was my rock bottom -- my breakdown — the moment I realized something needed to change.

The truth was, I had hit my upper limit — in other words I felt like I wasn’t deserving or capable of anything more. And that limit had me trapped inside my comfort zone where I was safe but burned out, and comfortable but not inspired -- and despite knowing I wanted to do something else, I was terrified to make a change.

The thing was, I knew what I needed to change BUT it was going to rock a few boats -- mine included.

All of this is what unfolds if you are in an upper limit — you can’t see any other way forward or up.

What you need to get started …

When you decide it's time to uplevel ... you need to do two things first.

First, you need to boost your capacity so you can do the hard, messy work. Your capacity is everything. 

Next, you must cast your Brave YES Vision. This is the clarity and the roadmap you need to move forward and start taking action. Sometimes action creates the clarity -- but I find it's best to really spend time on the vision before you waste a lot of time.

AND, then, finally you need to cultivate Unshakeable Resilience to take the hard steps toward your vision.

Resilience is key to handling the fall out that will ultimately happen in one way or another as you push yourself (or your creativity or your business or your relationships) to the next level.

When we are in the mess of upleveling, we ultimately have to let someone or something go in the process. You will lose people. You will fail and that's OK. 

To cultivate Unshakeable Resilience, you must remember this little list:

1. Lean into your STRENGTHS.

2. THRIVE in Positivity (develop those positive emotions!)

3. REACH out and UP -- and get quality support. It’s hard to do hard things by yourself, especially if you have a limited view on what’s possible for yourself.

4. OPEN your mind -- and start to explore new pathways and possibilities. Hello, Brave YES Mindset! 

5. NURTURE yourself in mind, body and spirit.

6. GROW forward with meaningful, bold goals that move you toward your next level. Small goals will get you small results.

   What does your next level look like?