It was an exciting moment. My boss had shared some good news—let’s make that amazing news—with me!
I had been promoted to Director. It was my dream come true. I was on top of the world and at the height of my career.
I was ecstatic. My family and friends were very proud of me.
And yet, something was missing.
Questions lurking in the shadows of my mind were becoming predominant thoughts. Is this really what my life’s work amounts to … a promotion? Does this even matter?
Six years later in 2014, I made a difficult decision to leave the comforts of my job. I was planning to focus on my ministry work and be more available to my elderly parents.
This turned out to be a time of deep reflection and self-discovery.
A time for me to unlock my potential and to actualize my greatest self and contributions.
The past few years have been tumultuous and challenging. There were moments I felt lost, confused and bewildered. I was walking in darkness, a wilderness it seemed.
A force was pulling me forward.
My future was beginning to take shape. Bit by bit, I could see the light. I would walk toward the light.
I would walk into the light.
A year ago, a sweet lady sparked up a conversation with me during a luncheon. Before parting ways she insisted, “you must read The Charge by Brendon Burchard. If nothing else, read the first chapter.
Promise me.”
Oddly enough I had ordered the book a few months earlier. It was sitting on a shelf in my home office. Later that day, I opened the book and glanced at the table of contents.
“Out of the darkness.” Wow! The words seemed to jump off of the page.
I recently completed this book.
I have a real appreciation for Burchard’s message in The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive. His perspective on willfully living a charged life is enlightening and encouraging.
He describes the charged life as “a consciously designed existence that feels evenly energized, engaged and enthusiastic.”
The word consciously struck a cord with me.
It made me ponder the difference between living subconsciously and consciously, asleep versus awake.
The charged life is one we rise to out of a darkness, out of our subconscious. We awaken to a more energetic existence. An existence that is exciting and fulfilling.
The charged life is when we unleash our authentic, best self. It is when we live into our calling, our meaning, our very purpose for being.
Prior to the charged life, we are either caged or comfortable. I have experienced both.
According to Burchard, the caged life is “living such that your thoughts, feelings and behaviors are restricted.” This life is marked by limitations, constraints or shackles.
The comfortable life is described as “familiar and stale.” A person living a comfortable life may be limited by their success. They may long for something more, but feel a tug to just leave things alone.
As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Yet something more fascinating is on the horizon. The charged life.
This is a life that calls to us “after we have done what we were supposed to do, become who we thought we were supposed to be, lived as we thought we were supposed to live.”
And it is an amazing life.
Will you answer the call? Will you walk into the light? Will you live a charged life?
What is your experience living either a caged or comfortable life? Please share your thoughts in the comments section, I’d love to hear from you.
References:
Burchard, Brendon. The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive. Simon & Schuster, 2012.
Evelyn Summerville
