Living On the Edge May Not Be As Brave As It Sounds

We think of living on the edge as brave, but in nature, the edge is actually a really good place to hide.
But we as humans were not born to hide! We were born to shine!

In modern terms, “living on the edge” has come to be known as living dangerously or having an unusual lifestyle. People “living on the edge” are exposed to more physical, emotional, psychological, or economic dangers. But living on the edge in reality may not be as brave as you think. Let me explain…

Since I started birdwatching, Dave has taught me about edges in nature. “The edge is where all the action happens,” Dave said. If I want to spot birds or animals, they tend to stay around edges – edges of forests, the water’s edge, edges of fields, edges of a clumps of brush, etc. He’s taught me to slow down and be observant whenever I transition from one terrain to another.

Animals tend to move along edges of a wilderness. They rarely dash across an open field unless they’re higher up on the food chain. If you’re looking for birds to capture on camera, pointing your lens toward an edge is a great spot to make some cool finds.

If you’re a deer hunter, you hide along the edge because you’re out of sight and can have a broad view. It will be easier to spot deer grazing or making a dash from one place to another.

I took this photo above a couple days ago as we were sitting just inside our field with my camera pointed on a thicket’s edge. Notice all the sparrows hanging out in a tree along the edge.

In nature, the edge is somewhere that is generally safer than running across an open area. It keeps you close to places to hide so predators don’t get you. Or if you’re a predator, it’s a good place to lurk to find something to eat.

What’s braver than living on the edge in nature? Coming out in the open! Traipsing across an open field is either braver – or perhaps more foolish – depending on your species.

As humans, unless we’re trying to locate things that congregate along the edge, we don’t have to plan our travels based on whether we can quickly hide in some woods. We can traipse across our field in the wide open if we like. There probably are no predators that are going to bother us on our property as we walk in daylight across a field.

I’ve been thinking about this edge analogy when it comes to how we live our lives and run our businesses. Dave and I work with wise and talented people who hire us so they can expedite making money doing what they love.

Because most…

Can’t articulate what they do succinctly
Are overwhelmed by technology
Spend so much time figuring out their business they rarely get to do what they feel called to do.

We help them

Discover and articulate their God-given messages
Create and deliver their brilliance through web sites, books, info products, courses and service packages

In other words, we help people get everything ready so they can start making money doing what they love. (Click here for a free 20-minute consult if this is something you need)

Going Beyond the Edge is a Terror Barrier

The interesting thing is that as we expedite the “preparation to market and sell” process for folks, they start to panic. They usually want to run back to the edge and hide in the brush.

Now that all the “prep work” is done, and they’re ready to market themselves in the wide open field, all the lizard brain warning bells go off:

You can’t put yourself out there to be made fun of and ridiculed!
What if you did all this work and prep and nobody wants what you’re offering?
What if you are embarrassed, ostracized from your community, and left out on your own, defenseless, to die and be eaten by predators? (Sounds crazy, but yeah, that’s what the lizard brain is thinking!)
Stay along the edge where you can hide quickly! It’s safer!

To the subconscious mind, perceived “failure” has that crazy life-or-death quality. The subconscious mind doesn’t know that you are living in the modern world and that a bit of trial and error is all part of the process.

You’re not going to die if you aren’t successful right out of the gate. In fact, most likely, you won’t be successful on the first, second, third, or perhaps twelfth try. You’ll have to test and tweak for a while. The faster you “fail” … the better. That means the faster you can learn what didn’t work so you can try a slightly different angle.

Getting Beyond the Lizard Brain

The fact is, you aren’t a woodland creature! You’re meant to shine and be a city set on a hill! You are to have dominion over your world — which means you’re at the top of the food chain! Getting around this lizard brain is where the SimplyALIGN™ work I do comes in. I work with you on getting past the limiting beliefs, past trauma, and old tapes. I help you get out of the lizard brain so you’re functioning in your higher processes. SimplyALIGN™ is a fast, painless way to deal with things so you can keep moving forward toward your goals and achieve them.

I talk about this some in this video with the founder of the SimplyALIGN™ Method and some of my fellow practitioners.

If you’re interested in learning more about the SimplyALIGN™ Method Practitioner training Carolyn mentioned in the video, click here.

So, what about you? Are you skirting along the edges so you can quickly hide? Or are you boldly stepping out and being you? Are you doing your thing for the world to see? The next time you hold back from doing what you really want to do, ask yourself if you’re doing it out of fear. Ask yourself, “What am I really afraid of?” If you’re holding back because of fear, the best thing to do is to visualize the outcome you desire and then push through the fear. Go into the resistance. The more you learn to go into the resistance, the more comfortable you’ll be stepping outside the comfort zone of the edge. That’s when the magic happens!