My greatest passion and desire is to see more kind-hearted, good-natured people get stronger and louder and take up more space in the world. Usually, this “type of person” tends to be on the quieter side. Sometimes this is due to their true nature. But more of the time, I think the hold-back has to do with perfectionism, fear and/ or toxic shame. These killjoys stop stop way too many people right in their tracks. Many don’t even get started. Let’s give those killjoys a word: TRAUMA.
How would you like to quicken your leap from trauma to peak performance?
According to Dr. Gabor Maté, TRAUMA is disconnection from self. SPIRITUALITY, at its best, is connection with self. PEAK PERFORMANCE is the full self-expression that comes from true connection.
If you’re someone who’s experienced a lot of emotional TRAUMA, if you’re a survivor, you’re probably described as someone who is RESILIENT. When I looked up the synonyms, the thesaurus said: “flexible” and “bounce back”. Hmmmm. That sounds about right. But, I wondered, is “resilience” a good description for someone who’s aiming for PEAK PERFORMANCE? Nope, it’s not quite sufficient.
PEAK PERFORMANCE requires a more proactive stance. Here are a few words for you to consider:
RELENTLESS, determined, fierce, rigorous, single-minded, persistent, unshakable, unstoppable. These words can produce anxiety or joy, depending on where you are.
They can feel really invigorating when you’re serving someone you love or creating something that has deep meaning to you. Imagine a young child excited about climbing a new structure on their favorite playground, RELENTLESS usually describes them.
However, if you’re someone who’s not yet resolved your trauma, and you aim to be RELENTLESS toward a PEAK PERFORMANCE goal, you’re probably going to feel anxiety (or terror) and you’re likely going to burn out. That’s why it’s important to clean up any trauma. Old memories may surface while you’re en-route to your larger dreams and goals. Emotional flashbacks can cause you to experience psychosomatic things like vertigo. That’s totally normal.
Vertigo suddenly hit a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago when he decided to have a party at his house. His social anxiety totally took over a couple of nights prior to the party and he started getting really bad vertigo. I asked him what he was afraid of, and he admitted that he kept imagining running outside during the party, dropping off the soup next to the bonfire and then running back inside to be by himself. Once this fear was named, his vertigo completely disappeared. And he enjoyed his party and his friends. And the soup.
I’m encouraging everyone to increase their TRAUMA IQ. Because even if you’re not dealing with it, I’m absolutely sure you know someone who is.
With a healthy TRAUMA IQ, in some instances, you’ll be able to move through an old trauma yourself and clean it up the way you might wipe off your kitchen table. Other times, you might want to reach out for help from a professional.
Key words: CPTSR CPTSD. Any professional who knows those words is someone who’s really done their homework and is pioneering the leading-edge healing processes that will help put you in the driver’s seat with the least amount of psych-drugs and/or dependency on them.
The more people can leap from TRAUMA to PEAK PERFORMANCE, the happier they’ll be. That’s why I was so determined to publish SANCTUARY: 4 Mantras for Thriving After Emotional Trauma. SANCTUARY is a gateway to resources for anyone who wants to better understand how to overcome TRAUMA as quickly as possible so that you can GET ON with your life!
I am absolutely committed to seeing more light in the eyes of more people. This means more awe and magic and joy. I would love to hear more stories about your PEAK experiences, about your joys, about your self-actualization. That’s why we’re here.
Let’s go!
For a limited time, you can download SANCTUARY for free at https://joybasedliving.com/
Much love,
Happy D!
Debbie Happy Cohen
I want you to LOVE negotiating for JOY! | Author | Coach at Joy-Based Living
I appreciate how articulate AND inspiring this post is, Debbie… I’m finding myself drawn to that Venn diagram, more & more, reflecting on what I can do to expand the “space” where they all join, which I see as holy ground worthy of my attention, meditation & prayer. Thank you, once again! 🙂
It is holy ground and I’m glad you’re enjoying it too 🐎🐎🐎.