Say maybe, to let something extraordinary unfold

Elaine France
3 min readFeb 20, 2021
© 2021 Elaine France. Horizons.

Somewhere along the way, you signed up to make good change happen in the world. In these unusual times, creating powerful solutions for the planet, means that you need to be more creative than ever.

The deal you make with the Universe, if you’re using the word ‘innovative’ anywhere in your lingo, is that you will need to step into the soupy mess for real and risk doing things differently.

And the moment you do is the time when revolutionary ideas will show up to challenge you on direction, choices, decisions…arriving unplanned and wilfully disrespectful of your status quo.

Often, our first reaction is to curate ourselves based on past hurts and seeming failures.

It plays out a little like the scene in the movie Notting Hill.
Your idea arrives and, like Anna, it says, “I was wondering whether you would let me see you a little…or a lot…”

Unnerved by the magnificent possibilities, you, like William, reply, “Can I just say No to your kind request? With you I’m in real danger…my relatively inexperienced heart, I fear, will not recover if I was once again cast aside…”

Startled by something that will take you out of your comfort zone, you haul out all of the old myths and stories to stay safe, all the reasons why not.

Both of these characters are you. Your unique blend of splendid creativity asks to be seen, inviting you to take the risk on something spectacular. The same you, who has chewed the dirt in the arena, as Brene Brown calls it, doesn’t want the agony of hitting the ground again.

And yet, revolutionary ideas are incorrigible in their persistence.

You may be tender-hearted but you are not faint-hearted; deep down you know that a seed of disruption has been planted that will change everything. After all, when you chose to play with the fire of walking the path less well travelled, you knew you were going to get at least a little singed.

What to do then?

As rule-breakers and change-makers advocating for people and planet, saying No to taking action makes us deeply unhappy. And yet, age and experience make us a little wiser than saying a ‘straight-over-the-cliff’ Yes.

What if you said, “Maybe!”

Allowing something extraordinary to unfold starts with, “Maybe…” so that time, tenderness and courage can work their magic, making space for the possibilities to be revealed and explored.

Letting go of past hurts, the fear of future failures and perhaps most of all, the terror that things might actually work out, means learning how to say Maybe.

This is the soupy space of new ideas. It’s messy, human, real. It’s the necessary meeting point of love, wonder, joy which are essential for opening up your creativity to be innovative and entrepreneurial.

It’s where you get to show up authentically, remembering how to take risks as unprecedented you, regardless of age or position.

You called yourself to action with your idea, now it’s time to say Maybe so that you make massive positive impact in ways meaningful to you.

Originally published at www.flowinaction.org

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Elaine France

Passionate about unfolding flourishing futures through love, creativity, ideas and entrepreneurship. You can find me at https://www.flowinaction.org