You’ve Already Arrived, Darling!

October 4th, 2016

By Lissa Rankin

Guest writer for Wake Up World

You are enough.

There. I said it. Breathe that in.

You are enough.

I can already hear your “Yeah, but’s”…

Yeah, but I haven’t figured out my life purpose.

Yeah, but I could be thinner.
Yeah, but I haven’t graduated from law school yet.
Yeah, but I’ve always wanted to write a book.
Yeah, but I’m not making as much money as I want to make.

Yeah, but… bullshit.

You Are There

When I wrote the article ‘Stop Striving, You’re Already Enough’, I shared with you my a-ha moment, when I realized that in the industry I’m in, you’re never “there.” I have friends who are uber-successful, their books have hit the New York Times Bestseller’s List, they’re high ticket-price, in-demand public speakers, and they’re realizing their visions — and yet, they still crave more. There’s no limit to the success you can achieve in this business – hell, Oprah probably worries that she’s not “there” because her network isn’t a raging success. But, to attain inner peace, at some point, you just have to accept that you’re already enough, regardless of the level of outer success you’ve achieved.

The Shadow Of The Visionary

When you’re a visionary on a mission to change the world, it’s so easy to wind up on the perpetual treadmill, “sperming” your way to the realization of your oh-so-noble and world-changing vision.

One visionary is trying to help a million women balance their hormones. Another is trying to convert everyone to veganism. Others are working to save the environment, or feeding the hungry, or emancipating the victims of human sex trafficking. I am on a mission to heal health care.

These are beautiful, enlightened visions. Thank God for visionaries like this.

And yet, when you dig a little deeper into the shadows of us visionaries, you discover something a bit hairy, something covered up with layers of golden light, something… that looks and smells suspiciously like ego. And dirty feet. But mostly like ego.

The Big Why?

I asked a fellow visionary the other day why we were both even remotely tempted to sell out our families, our friends, our self care, or our health in service to a mission, even a noble one? What is the driving force that makes us do this?

We were both left with a bitter taste in our mouths, probably from all those dirty feet we had to admit to licking.

When you get visionaries together and invite them to get really honest, most of us have to admit that somewhere, deep down, we worry that, unless we do big things / make our mark / save the world / help people heal / _________________ [fill in your own blank], we’re not enough.

Maybe, we think, if only we cure cancer or revolutionize a broken system or raise money for children orphaned by genocide or… I don’t know… end world hunger, maybe then we will have real value in the world.

Does this sound like you? Are you one of us dirty feet lickers?

Someone Needs to Save the World, Right?

When I stare into the shadow of what feels like truth, I have to ponder what life would be like if all the visionaries knew – without a shadow of a doubt – that we were already enough. Would we lose our motivation to save the world? Would we wind up sitting under bodi trees in the lotus position, reveling in the inner peace of our enoughness? And then who would crusade for change when it needs to happen?

Does the world depend on ego-driven, dirty feet-licking visionaries to keep it sane? Or can we let go of the need to be more and still be effective crusaders?

I don’t know the answer to this. Feel free to enlighten me. But what I do know is this…

You Have Already Arrived, Darling!

When I was preparing to go on my book tour for my book Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself, my super grounded and ever-inspiring friend Kris Carr gave me a pep talk. She said, “You have arrived, darling. I officially declare you ‘there.’ ”

And the voice of my Gremlin went ballistic. “No you’re not! Your publisher is expecting big things of you. You have to sell enough books to pay out your advance. The public television special they’re producing about your work has to convert to effective fund-raising for PBS. You’re not there yet! You have to work harder, rehearse more, go to more cities on your book tour,make it happen.

And then I bopped my Gremlin on the head until he was stunned into silence. I fed him a few peanuts, rubbed his little Buddha belly, and told him to quiet down, that although I know his scared little Gremlin voice is just trying to protect me, I am safe, I am enough, and he doesn’t need to prattle on the way he does.

That’s when the voice of my Inner Pilot Light chimed in. And what it said applies not just to me, but to you. So pay attention.

You Are Enough

Darling, you have arrived. You have nothing left to prove. You are inherently valuable, not because of how much you’ve achieved, but simply because you have within you a spark of divinity that makes you essentially valuable. Just look at any baby and you’ll see the inherent worth within every human being. You don’t have to earn that value because you just ARE.

Stop pushing. Stop striving. Stop trying to impress anybody. Stop being so spermy and just trust that you are enough, just as you are. Give up trying to be perfect because you’re guaranteed to fail, and remember that your imperfections are the gateway to intimacy with others who can relate to your vulnerabilities. Stop trying to get “there” and just savor being HERE. You are enough. You have arrived.

Take a deep breath and drink that in.

Do You Believe Me?

Is your Inner Pilot Light pulling out pom poms? Or is your Gremlin ranting right about now? How can visionaries effect positive change without getting caught in the black hole of ego that always strives for more?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Already there,

Recommended reading from Lissa Rankin:

• Relationships on the Spiritual Path
• The “Space Between Stories”
• How to Make Your Body Ripe for Miracles
• Are You “Spiritual But Not Religious?”
• A Lesson In Empathy
• 9 Practical Tips to Help You Find Your Calling
• 10 Fun Ways to Reduce Your Cortisol Levels
• 6 Stories To Make You Believe In The Power Of The Mind To Heal You
• 7 Tips For Finding Your Tribe
• 10 Surprising Things That Trigger “Fight-Or-Flight”
• 8 Steps to Turn Conflict Into Spiritual Gold: A Practice

About the author:

Lissa Rankin, MD is a mind-body medicine physician on a grass roots mission to heal healthcare, while empowering you to heal yourself. She is the founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute training program for physicians and healthcare providers, and the New York Times bestselling author of the books Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself (2013), The Fear Cure (2014), and The Anatomy of a Calling (2015).

Lissa blogs at LissaRankin.com and created the online community HealHealthCareNow.com. She is also the author of several other books, a speaker, a professional artist, an amateur ski bum, and an avid hiker. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

Connect with Lissa on Facebook and Twitter, or visit LissaRankin.com.

The Anatomy of a Calling: A Doctor’s Journey from the Head to the Heart and a Prescription for Finding Your Life’s Purpose

The new book by Lissa Rankin, MD.

We are all on a mission to step into our true nature and fulfill the assignment our souls were sent to Earth to fulfill.

In The Anatomy of a Calling, Lissa describes her entire spiritual journey for the first time — beginning with what she calls her “perfect storm” of events — and recounts the many transformative experiences that led to a profound awakening of her soul. Through her father’s death, her daughter’s birth, career victories and failures, and an ongoing struggle to identify as both a doctor and a healer, Lissa discovers a powerful self-awareness.

As she shares her story, she encourages you to find out where you are on your own journey, offering inspiring guideposts and practices along the way. With compelling lessons on trusting intuition, surrendering to love, and learning to see adversity as an opportunity for soul growth,The Anatomy of a Calling invites you to make a powerful shift in consciousness and reach your highest destiny.

Lissa Rankin’s book “The Anatomy of a Calling” is available here on Amazon.