The Power of Being Unreasonable

Unreasonable: being willing to ask/demand more of you and of others than the status quo.

That is, when I say being unreasonable; I’m referring to a way of being that has you or someone you know do something that hasn’t previously been done or sometimes to continue to do something that has already been attempted repeatedly. The athletic world has some of the best examples of being unreasonable: everything from marathon preparation to Olympic trials to high school football try outs, we can all picture what it is to be unreasonable in the world of physical pursuits. We have lived or heard a story about someone who wanted very much to excel, to accomplish, to win. We know that oftentimes at the source of victory is the power of being unreasonable, to push the envelope, lean into the edge, don’t take no for an answer. Yet for most of us, athletic endeavors are the only place where we allow ourselves to experience the high, the thrill, and the exhilaration of the power of being unreasonable.

Is it possible for us to experience that thrill off the field? What does the power of being unreasonable look like in other areas of life? The answer to that question is as unique as you are. In other words, what may be unreasonable for you, say in the realm of finances, would be quite comfortable for another. Is there another area then besides the sports arena where any one of us could live an unreasonable life? I believe so.

I have noticed with curiosity, the experience of the power of being unreasonable. The highs and lows, the thrills and chills of trying out for and winning a spot on a championship volleyball team some 15 years ago. From the first try-out, to the grueling practices, to each time I was on the court at the net looking into the eyes across from me I Am present. I Am empowered and I Am flow. I observe that in physical pursuits where being unreasonable is exactly what it takes to succeed we are willing to demand of ourselves and those around us more than the status quo. I observe the same today as a success coach for executives that what it will take for my clients to succeed is being unreasonable and so I demand of myself, and of them, to do what has never been done and together we accomplish what has never before been accomplished.

How do we tap into the power of being unreasonable off the court and without a success coach? Simple…We choose.

The majority of us live a reasonable life, a life where we don’t choose anything because we are too afraid of making the wrong choice (about college, clothes, money, career, spouse, children, family). Rather than choose, we falter, deciding to go with the ‘lesser of two evils’ context of survival and we become paralyzed. Perceiving life as it flows all around us through our past colored lenses, we feel stuck, unclear, and frustrated. And we’re not alone. Looking around there are billions of people living the exact same way, refusing to choose and seemingly choosing to stay stuck. Notice I say seemingly stuck, like the movie Groundhog’s Day. Why seemingly? In reality there is no such thing as stuck. There is no standstill, no pause button on the experience that is Life. The perception of being stuck is just that- a perception that is not founded in reality. In The Universe, Life is flow. Observe nature that has not disconnected from Source to experience this truth. When is the ocean still, when do the planets pause in their rotation? In the reality of life there is constant motion; motion pressing forward, motion receding backwards. Consider that when you are in the perception of “stuck,” you are in fact receding and replaying past patterns of behavior that are familiar and easily accepted as “the way things are and ultimately will always be .”

I chose to write a book. My co-author and I had been friends for about a year when he approached me one day and said, "I'm writing a book and I'd like you to co-author it with me." I responded, “What's the book about?" (Fair question right?) "Abundance," he said. I said "Yes." That was our initial conversation! Then the following week we talked over the phone and began to create the book you're holding in your hands. We declared that we would write this book, turning out a chapter a week, each chapter flowing with and building upon the last and yet complete enough to stand on their own. As we are both professionals and happen to live in two different states, we agreed to talk once a week for an hour each week until the book was finished. We also committed ourselves and our lives to producing a body of work that would not only transform us as we wrote it, but also transform the life of whoever chose to read the words. Now, I had written a book some 6 years prior as a sole author. I finished that manuscript however I never submitted the book for publication as all copies were burned in a house fire. I knew from personal experience that what we were saying we would accomplish was unheard of, possibly even crazy and definitely unreasonable but we both seemed okay with the absurdity of the whole idea so we moved forward.

We succeeded in our goal of producing a transformational book that has been a journey to write and a privilege to share. We also wrote a chapter a week, talking once a week for an hour and each week we both produced work that flowed seamlessly with each other. We accomplished the absurd, the unthinkable and the unimaginable by being unreasonable! Now we both have the honor of having International Best Selling Authors on our CV’s.

Without the human addition of value judgment (good/bad, right/wrong, crazy/stupid), life just is, and life just flows.

Can you imagine living your life choosing to further what you’re committed to rather than what you’re afraid of?

You see, as far as the universe is concerned there is no good or bad, there just is. And the great power of the human being is Choice. The ultimate source of all power is Choice. If life just is, then what do you choose? What do you choose to eat, to wear, where do you choose to spend your waking hours? If your words create your reality, what do you choose to say about yourself, your family, your friends, your finances?

Living your life as if you have a say, experiencing life through choice in the present moment versus perceiving life through your past is to be solely responsible for your life. This way of thinking and being is not a common lifestyle choice anywhere in the world, except of course amongst athletes who live inside the power of being unreasonable on a daily basis. So can you. I am convinced that all anyone ever has to do to succeed at anything is to be unreasonable. And yes, YOU do have the power to Choose.

Choose the life of your dreams. Take action to further THAT commitment, and watch the universe conspire in your favor.