Intentionally Allowing Yourself to Receive

Living Room Realty 2025 State of the Union facilitation

I swiveled the microphone away from my face before saying a word and started to play my singing bowls for the standing room only crowd. The hum of early morning chatter faded as the sound echoed through the beautifully designed space, reaching into every heart. I let the harmonies lead this room of unsuspecting folks through a bath of sound before directing them to their journals, followed by more exciting surprises. 
​
I was doing this for the State of the Union 2025 kickoff meeting for Living Room Realty’s team of around seventy members. The company was celebrating many things and it was inspiring to see this community cheer each other on for so many wins, prioritizing taking the time and space to share authentic messages of appreciation for each other.

Another shot from the Living Room Realty 2025 State of the Union facilitation

I just posted on IG about this concept of taking time to celebrate after the issue popped up in a couple of my sessions yesterday. We often move on so quickly once we’ve achieved a milestone or reward. We tend to critique what we think we didn’t get right and quickly leap into the next challenge. It is often hard to settle into actually receiving and it can be uncomfortable to slow down enough to fully let in the joy. 
​
Many of us have been trained to value mistakes or things we got wrong more than what we got right. As Greg Bell brought to my attention in his book, “What’s Going Well”, when we were young, our wrong answers were circled in red, and there were often no marks for our correct answers. It turns out our brains are hard-wired to scan for what could be a threat at a much higher percentage than what is safe and feels good.

Our brains even prioritize storing more challenging or traumatic memories than ones that feel good and rewarding. We are therefore more oriented toward remembering and seeking out the challenges and not experiencing joy quite as much. However, we no longer need to be aware of a saber-toothed tiger and don’t need this outdated form of prioritization. We have the power to consciously shift this “negativity bias” as psychologists call it, and aim our sights on what FEELS GOOD. 

So this is my invitation for you:

Notice in your life where you can recognize a choice to either double down on the intensity and difficulty or release the belief that it has to be hard in order to be relevant or true. Allow yourself to let in the wins, the moments of reflection on what is going well and the things that feel good.

Where in your awareness can you allow yourself to receive RIGHT NOW as you reflect on what is happening in your life?

Try practicing scanning for what feels good within the situations that present themselves for the next two weeks to help rewire the baseline operating program of your brain. What do you think might happen? Notice if you have any resistance to prioritizing this focus. I’d love to hear about your experience and I am happy to help if you find this to be a challenge.

A big thank you to Living Room Realty for having me and contributing to this conversation and movement.

Subscribe to Muses of a Medium Substack