Hi there, I'm Jill Allen and this is Find Your Fierce, the show designed for women to discover your fears, unlock an unstoppable mindset, build unbreakable courage, and completely transform how you show up every single day. Each week I will bring ideas, methods and strategies that will inspire you to step into your greatness and live life on purpose. Let's be fit, fierce, and unstoppable.
(00:35): Hey there gang, welcome to Find Your Fierce. So glad that you are here with me as we dive into a brand new episode. It's time to Speak Truth, have an aha moment and talk about how you will show up today when in reality you feel unequipped and unprepared for. So, but before we go any further today, I have to ask you, are you needing a speaker for an upcoming event or conference? If so, I am your person. I would so love to bring the find your Fierce message to your next function to book your event. Message me at jill@jillallencoaching.com. And I love that you are here listening in and spending time with me. So honored that I get to be a part of your day. You are also amazing and I thank you for your love and your support and I appreciate your feedback, your reviews, and I love that you share this podcast and a set free message with your friends and family.
(01:15): So if you could keep on doing that, that would be incredible because you are helping this movement as it helps reach more women and it impacts more lives and that is certainly what life is all about. So thank you so much again. So let's dive in. Are you ready? How perfect do circumstances have to be for your happiness? What things have to happen or do you have to experience for you to have joy? What is tied directly to you being happy? And as a result your forfeiting opportunities for a happy and joyful heart? Because they may have a layer, of m and G on them. What is your current not so good or the current? It could be better. What is a reality that you are in right now that you would love to let go of and will you continue to allow it to keep you from experiencing what lies deeper below?
(02:06): Talk about, I mean I'm like I'm firing you with questions right now, but a greater experience is just beneath the surface level layer of undesirable circumstances. We just got back from St. Thomas. We were there for the Be unstoppable retreat. We spent an amazing five days on an adventure with 12 incredible women, a beautiful home overlooking the island, a private chef, a catamaran day on the ocean. Our packing list was swimsuits and coverups and sunglasses and hiking shoes, perfect weather, clear skies, 80 and sunny. But let me tell you, it was like leading up to this trip, talk about a torrential downpour that just would not stop. Flights were changed without notice. People were unable to attend very last minute and the private chef that was hired bailed and he made up this crazy story as to why he could not make it. Just three weeks before the retreat bailing on a $900 non-refundable flight and here we are with no chef.
(03:14): And so I did not bargain for this. I didn't prepare for it nor felt like I didn't have time to adjust. And maybe you're currently going through a situation you didn't bargain for something that you would never have chosen, but it seems to have chosen you. And so what will you do when that happens? How will you show up in the face of a reality that you feel unequipped for and unprepared for? And you may not see it right now, but this is your opportunity to rise up. This is your invitation to level up in your life. And so the question is, will you? I mean you don't rise up from perfection, you rise up from the ashes and so you rise up from the unfavorable, the uncomfortable, the unforeseen, the unfathomable. So look around if you have any of that in your life today.
(04:03): You have an opportunity to rise up and with proper higher perspective. You will see these circumstances do not have to ruin everything and they may change things, but writing it off as a hopeless loss cause is optional. Crying in your closet thinking it's the end of the world. I have to say I may or may not have done that, but cancellation is a choice and so will you cancel here. I assumed when planning a five day retreat on an island, it would have some obstacles and it would have some roadblocks, but I knew that we were going to be on an island surrounded with the best women ever. The planning on this one was off after six years of hosting destination retreats. I was wrong on this one. My biggest worry went from picking out the menu to how I'm going to find a chef within budget in just three weeks and how to recoup the flight that the original chef just abandoned this unexpected and honestly unwelcome interaction with someone struggling ethically.
(05:06): I mean it presented me with the opportunity to rise above and find happiness that wasn't cheap. It wasn't easy. I had to dig for it. In fact, I had to jump in for it because truthfully I was mad. I was angry. I was in disbelief that someone would break contract and bail without a truthful story and I will be honest. I cried and I wanted to quit and I questioned whether I should continue with retreats, if it was worth it. I questioned, I had doubts. But I want you to think about flipping the perspective. I know that's something that I had to do. And when I arrived in St. Thomas, and let me tell you, I was so thankful that I was able to find a local chef who knew the area, who loved what he does and who was within somewhat of a budget and had incredible culinary skills.
(05:50): And I couldn't even imagine if the original chef was here. It would have been a hot mess. Even through all of this, this and the financial and planning and the stress, I was still walking into a blessing. This forced new and different circumstance brought a different perspective and I was so thankful for that. I believe this is exactly why our all-knowing, all powerful, loving God allows things to go sideways sometimes in our lives. He allows things to fall apart. He allows things to go wrong. He allows crazy flight plans and upside down interactions that fall through on a weekend you've been planning for and looking forward to in for over 12 months. On the surface it appears to be a flop and a disaster. But look deeper. This is an opportunity to rise up and experience greater things that you were not expecting because of the, I was in just 21 days before the retreat kickoff.
(06:44): We had one of the best private chefs for the entire weekend. We didn't have to worry about a thing. Chef Josh took over, went above and beyond. The worry I had for a moment was all deleted. When we arrived for the island of venture, we had group workouts, we had morning sunrise stretch sessions. We were super spoiled with the meals prepared for us without having to shop or cook or clean, which was a mama's dream. We hiked the island, had an impromptu time at the beach, eating a shore lunch. We swam on an isolated beach where the water was so blue we hung out by the endless pool overlooking the island. Shores had the best connection, laughs and the stories told with women who were on fire for life. And we totally let go of all the stress and the worry and allowed things to all work out the way that it always was to be.
(07:30): We did all of this because of the unexpected. It was our opportunity to rise above and I wouldn't change it. Can you look back and see how less than favorable circumstances were just an invitation to rise up? Can you look back and see how God was offering you greatness when you had to forfeit goodness? Can you see how he allowed your disappointment to lead you to deeper happiness and even better perspective? Jesus said in John 1427, peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. You don't need peace for perfect circumstances. What Jesus came to give you is for real life. The real life where things aren't fair, sometimes disappointing and oftentimes unexpected. His peace still takes over. And he says, do not let your heart be troubled.
(08:27): Refuse the bad habit of getting all stirred up over things you can't control. I know I needed a reminding with just that. Find the peace Jesus is offering here. Find the gift in this rut, the message in this mess, the purpose in this pain, the treasure in this threat, it's there, but it's likely won't be on the surface. You're going to need to dig deeper for this then use it to rise up above the circumstances. Our God is not a surface level God. He's deep. He's bigger than you can ever imagine. He's greater than your mind can imagine. He has the power to control the weather, the details, the timing, the unfolding, and right now and the future. And sometimes he says, the exact thing you would intentionally avoid is what is absolute best for you. And here you have a choice, embrace it or you can pout over it.
(09:19): Find the good in it or focus on the gloom in it. Get yourself in a panic or dwell in peace. You can grow bitter or you can get better. And Isaiah 61, 3 tells us that you know that Jesus came to bestow on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes. The oil of joy instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Despair doesn't look good on us guys. Crying and complaining doesn't either start praising him here and see what he is doing. These ashes will be exchanged for beauty. Sadness turns to joy when you rise above the circumstances and accept the invitation to live on a higher level with Jesus. Jesus rose up so you could rise up too. That fires me up. The enemy works over time on you to keep you down. It's simple. Don't allow crazy in your life.
(10:07): Don't blindly accept his invitation to dwell in the darkness of disappointment and miss your opportunity to rise up to your destiny. Don't stay stuck in the details of the things that aren't going your way. Maybe this is more for you than you ever imagined. God certainly is not against you. He is using all things together for good now and nothing shall be wasted in his capable hands. Embrace the hard we can search for the goodness. We can jump into that uncomfortable and see that these less than favorable circumstances have made it welcoming. Accept the invitation to rise up here and experience greatness. Your good plans never included. How does good become great? Good falls all apart when God gets in the middle of it and offers greater Guys, we just gotta accept the offer. I'm fired up. And if you're wanting even more fire in your day, there's so much for you to do.
(10:57): So you can follow me on Instagram, snag a copy of my book at free on Amazon. Join us in fit and fear. So the flip the script, one-on-one nutrition coaching, or if you're wanting to do your own road trip, you can hop in our sprinter van that sleeps up to five and hit the open road. And what about our next mission trip? We are heading to Hawaii in June. Will you join our mission team? Be sure to go to Joe Allen coaching.com for all updates and join the Just Breathe Facebook group. We would love to connect with you. Heads up on the next episode. We are taking action when it comes to life and talking about how it is critical that you live it to the full. So be sure to pop back in next week.
Thanks so much for joining me today and I pray that I fold your heart with joy. If you could let me know before hopping off here today, that would be incredible. Subscribe. Share this episode link on your social media if you felt encouraged or inspired. As we all know someone that can benefit. I would love it if you would give some feedback and a review as well. Talk with you next time. Be fit, be fierce, be unstoppable. See ya.
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