Be willing to be surprised

Have you ever set your intention to experience something, and then all of a sudden, out of the blue, it happens? And you’re caught by surprise?

During one of my recent coaching sessions, one of my clients set the intention that she wanted to be a public speaker. She felt this urgent calling to share her message and her ideas with the world. 

Soon enough, a podcast host reached out to her to ask her to speak on her show…and my client didn’t even tell the host that she was looking to do more public speaking.

Another client shared with me his desire to find new work that felt more impactful and aligned with where his heart was calling him to serve.

Out of the blue, an offer to apply to a job showed up, one that fit the parameters of exactly what he was looking for and that also felt exciting to him.

For some reason, surprising experiences like these are common both with my individual coaching clients and with the students who participate in my workshops and classes (especially my Vision Board workshop!).

A couple years ago, during my Re-Write Your Money Story program, all of the participants had delightful surprises show up. One client had most of his trip’s expenses to Bali covered, while another person was offered a free hot tub for his backyard!

I remember saying to myself at the time, “I don’t know why these surprises keep on showing up for my clients, but something must be working.” 

And I didn’t know why, until recently.

In the book, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One, Dr. Joe Dispenza writes about these kinds of surprises. 

Dispenza notes that these surprises are actually signs of your growth and the expansion of your consciousness.

He makes this point: Say you want to experience something in your life and you know exactly how it’s going to happen, and it ends up happening just the way you planned it. When this happens, Dispenza argues that you’re not really growing as much as you could.

You see, when things unfold in this pre-determined way, you most likely came up with the plans based on how you’ve experienced something similarly in the past, or based on pre-conceived notions of how things were supposed to happen.

On the other hand, when you’re surprised by an outcome, it’s most likely an indication that you didn’t know what was going to happen or you didn’t believe it was going to happen.

The surprise is a sign that you expanded your understanding of what’s possible.

Your surprise creates new neural pathways in your brain that help you open to possibilities. 

The surprise gets you out of a routine or a rut, and invites you to think about your life differently.

One affirmation I experimented with many years ago was this: “I am open to delightful surprises today.”

(At first my affirmation was “I am open to surprises today,” but I realized that I only wanted delightful surprises!)

Each morning, I would say my affirmation and set the intention to be surprised at some point in my day.

Sometimes I would purposefully look out for the surprises, saying to myself, “Okay, where are you now, my delightful surprise? I haven’t experienced you yet!”

Other times I would forget that I came up with that affirmation. Inevitably, though, something delightful would happen that day, and I would be reminded about my affirmation.

Here’s the thing, too. The surprise and delight don’t have to be ground-breaking or huge. They could be something seemingly small in the scheme of things. 

I’ll give you an example of what happened to me this morning.

As I walked to my co-working space this morning, I made a mental note to speak to the support staff to see if they could buy oat milk to have available for our coffee, in addition to the half-and-half, soy and almond milk we already have.

(FYI, oat milk isn’t very common in the United States right now. I first tasted oat milk in Europe last year and have been looking for it ever since I came back. Then I discovered that Target started selling it recently, so now I’m a happy camper!)

After I made my mental note to make this request, I walked over to get my cup of coffee and, lo and behold, there was a carton of oat milk sitting right there in the refrigerator!

Surprise and delight!

Here’s the spiritual truth:

The Universe wants you to experience more good in your life, because that is its nature. Life is abundantly good, and it is always seeking to express more of that good through you!

What stops you from experiencing more good in your life are your own limits to what you think you deserve.

And here’s the secret formula:

Your job is to get clear on “what” you want and to up-level your consciousness so that you believe you are “equal” to “what” you want. It’s then up to the Universe to take care of the details for “how” it shows up.

Sometimes the Universal “how” shows up as inspirational ideas for you to take action. 

Other times it shows up as actual people “out of the blue” offering you new opportunities or insights.

When you plant the seed of your intention into the field of infinite possibilities and when you believe you are equal to those possibilities, you open to the myriad ways that good can show up, many of which are probably ways you might not have ever imagined.

For your assignment this week, play around with the idea of being willing to be surprised, and being equal to the great surprises in store for you.

That’s it. And watch as delightful surprises begin showing up right before your eyes.

Abundant Blessings and Namaste.

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A little about me...

My unique ability is helping people figure out what’s really holding them back and to fully support them in a safe and sacred space, with the result of people feeling excited about life and believing they can claim the driver’s seat of their lives. I've been called the "Aha Whisperer."

If you’re feeling the need for support in creating a life filled with more spaciousness, purpose and joy, I offer a complimentary life coaching consultation that may provide you with the insight and resources you need in this moment. To learn more about this, click here.