Last year as I began my journey in Mentor Masterclass (my year long coaching training program), I heard the word emergence a lot. I had an idea of what it meant but it would take me full year to start to truly feel it and begin to trust it in my own life.

So what is Emergence exactly?

For other Dictionary geeks (like me), Oxford Dictionary defines emergence as the process of coming into view or becoming exposed after being concealed.

So in terms of life, career, and goal setting, emergence means realizing that no matter what we hope to achieve in our lives, there is no way to anticipate exactly what is going to happen or how things are going to unfold. As a result, plans need to be made in a way that allows for change. This way, as the invisible becomes known, we can adjust.

That doesn’t mean we should abandon planning altogether though. When we leave too much up to chance, we are likely to attract and achieve more of the same. 

Since you are reading this, I am sure you are a dreamer and that your heart is driven to create, achieve and receive more. I invite you to discover what shifting into the space of emergence can do for you.

What does this shift towards Emergence look like?

I officially started my business almost exactly a year ago. 

Here’s what I thought was going to happen:

By the end of 2020, I would have a regular steady stream of paid clients. By April of 2021, I would be fully booked and have completely replaced my day job income with income from my business.

What actually happened:

Most of the time, I was just humming along. Showing up consistently to build my business but not always feeling 100% clear about where I was going. Being aware that I needed to focus on so many different facets of my business and simultaneously feeling overwhelmed by them. I had to do everything (the very definition of newness): setting up programs, reaching out to prospective clients, building my web and social media presence, and developing my coaching skills.

In the meantime, I was still pursuing my acting career and writing my own woman show at the same time. And I was grappling with a lot of unexplained health issues that meant I was often dizzy and exhausted. To say it was a lot to hold is an understatement.

Learning to Walk my Talk

Whenever you move towards a big goal and vision, your shit is going to come up. Because we actually have to become a new person to achieve and hold the new things we desire.

I was no exception. All of my patterns that weren’t serving me and I was determined to help others with rose to the surface including my health issues, frequent overwhelm, challenges with my boundaries, my tendency towards people pleasing, feeling that I don’t belong, and feelings of unworthiness.

Subconsciously, I was waiting for the clients to show up to prove that I was good enough. All the while getting mired in deep comparison.

 What I was telling myself ….

There are the other actors I know who got their new business off the ground with remarkable ease and were booked out, seemingly overnight. Why can’t I?

Other coaches have really big practices, followings, launches, but they have bigger acting careers than I do, so what hope do I have?

All of this came up so I could heal. I had to learn to walk my talk from deep within my bones. My new ways of being had to become as natural as walking itself. Sometimes that just takes time!

The New Paradigm

All of these thoughts were actually just symptoms of my own resistance. Resistance to accepting myself exactly as I was in that moment and also to accepting my own process (and however long it might take).

Creativity is not linear and inspiration doesn’t always show up on a timeline.

I was inspired to write this today because I had what the old me would call an unproductive day. I didn’t set down to do an exact list of tasks and then finish them.

My process was super sloppy. I was going to write the copy for an event I have coming up in September, but I needed to find an article I was reading about a week ago in order to write it.

As I looked through my (“far too many”) open tabs to find said article, I started piecing together thoughts about pieces of my business I’ve been working on for weeks or (in some cases) months. New inspiration came for those pieces and so I indulged my muse, letting go of the need for a plan, and dove in.

Before writing this article, I easily worked on 3 other projects and did laundry, but somehow it all worked. I now feel closer to my big vision and completing the tasks that allow me to ultimately serve my community. Finishing my website, re-launching Movement and Meditation Circles, and even launching a brand new program to help performers with their audition anxiety all feel reachable .

Prior to this moment, I had truly wondered (many times) if any of this was possible, if I’d ever complete anything, if the final product would ever happen. After all, I don’t have nearly as much time as I did since I’ve returned to having a day job as things continue to emerge. Now, strangely, through a process I couldn’t possibly attempt to explain, it is.

Emergence is not logical.

And boy does my head hate that.

But you know what? My heart, soul and body love this feeling.

And that is what it means to live in emergence.

Now it’s your turn …

Recall a time when you experienced emergence with a project or goal in your life.

Write about that experience.

• What did it feel like?
• How did all the little pieces of your project or goal come together?
• Did you experience any doubts along the way? What were they?
• Are there parts of this experience that could help you be more in emergence with your life and goals right now?

I’d love to hear from you. What aha did you have from doing this exercise? Tell me in the comments below.