No One Came to the Workshop – It Was a Great Success!

I scheduled a Personal Totem Pole Workshop for Boston last weekend.  Over the past several weeks I’ve had moments of severe anxiety – What if I give a party and nobody comes?  That is exactly what happened, but the experience was a fantastic success!

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I know as I leave for Boston on Thursday morning that no one has signed up for the workshop scheduled for Saturday.  It is my dear hope that people will come for the free talk on Friday evening and, charmed by the presentation, will sign on for the Saturday workshop or, perhaps, an individual session with me on Sunday.  I know that at least my dear friend, Alma Dell, and my second cousin, Suzie, are coming to hear me.

The night of the talk, my poor husband, Jim, waits by the front door, hoping to let in a least a few attendees, but all the people on the street hurry by in total indifference.  He comes up to the meeting room on the eleventh floor ten minutes past the time the talk is scheduled to begin, knowing he will find me alone. I can read concern on his face about how I’ll take this disappointment.  He expects to find me in distress, but instead I feel calm.

Here is the very worst thing I’d imagined could happen.  I’m delighted to discover a blessed serenity in the place of the upset I had anticipated.   My getting distraught about the situation wouldn’t make anything better.  It would just make me miserable.

I have said these words to myself many times.  I have often told them to clients.  I feel deep gratitude to find myself living them with no effort whatsoever.

Several moments later, both Alma Dell and Suzie arrive and we hold a lovely little mini-workshop with the three of them – my dear husband, my dear friend, and my dear cousin.  I am delighted to share the work I love with them.  Each receives messages of value from their own Divine Nature.  I feel so blessed.

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Later I check in with my inner wisdom.  What should I make of this experience?  I am met with enthusiastic congratulations.

“That was wonderful!”  I hear.  “You could not have done better.”

My Divine Nature affirms what I already know.  The very worst outcome I could imagine was exactly what happened.   Of course I felt disappointed, but I did not allow it to overwhelm me, not even for an instant.  I focused on what was of value – the time spent with people I care about doing what I love – and enjoyed an excellent experience.

What a success!

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What you can do

1.  When you suffer anxiety over a dreaded outcome, take a deep breath. Remind yourself that worrying about potential trouble won’t keep it from happening, but it will ruin the moments you spend lost in anxiety.  Reassure yourself that even if the worst actually happens, it may end up being not so bad, after all.
2. When misfortune befalls you, remember that you always have a choice about how to handle whatever comes your way.  The more you take the unwanted in stride, the more you own your power to determine your own experience.
3. Be extremely patient with yourself when you become upset in the face of disappointment.  Old habits take time to change.  Notice how much you increase your misery by allowing things to distress you.  Use this awareness to motivate you to develop calmer ways of responding.
4. Pay close attention to those times when you handle situations in ways that make you happy.  Notice what works for you and use it again.  Notice how much better your life goes when you do!

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