Bring It On - Christine Kane

One of my Platinum Coaching clients – I’ll call her Sylvia – is on the brink.

She has spent the past year healing and releasing old “stuff,” opening up to new ideas, and getting super clear – and now she has created some very exciting opportunities.  All the she has to do is say yes, keep moving forward, and trust herself.

We were discussing this during our coaching call last week. We talked about how fast things are moving for her.  She admitted to being alarmed at the speed and effortlessness (and yes, fear) she was experiencing.  She laughed and said, “Well, I guess I asked for this.  I mean, last year at your retreat I pretty much told the Universe to Bring It On.”

I remembered that moment. And it gave me chills.

Last March, at my women’s retreat, Sylvia had pulled me aside and asked for some one-on-one time.  We walked together in a downpour of rain to the riverbank. She shared some closely held pieces of her past, and she told me that she was ready to finally let them go.  So, together, with rain beating down on us, we did a sort of makeshift ritual that involved some prayer, some laughter, and lots of sliding in the mud. Finally Sylvia pulled out a tiny remnant that represented this part of her past. She placed it in the river, and in silence, we watched it float away.

That’s when she told the Universe to “bring it on.”

“Bring it on” is one of the most powerful prayers I know.  It says, “I’m tired of how I’ve been doing it. I’m ready to walk through the fire and burn away this stuff that has held me back. I’m ready to step up and live the life that is mine to live.”

“Bring it on” is not about gritting your teeth together and daring the Universe to hurt you – as if you were in a Bruce Willis movie or something.  It’s about knowing you no longer have a choice. Your soul is now calling the shots, and it is speaking so loudly – pretty much shouting – that it is more challenging and debilitating for you to remain stuck in a place of reaction.

As Anais Nin said, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

When you say, “Bring it on” to the Universe, you become empowered. You’re no longer living in reaction to the “darkness” – playing games of fear and avoidance.  You know that your challenges have a purpose, and that you’re strong enough to find what lessons they offer.  You cease running away, and start running towards, knowing that nothing can hurt you.

In Ursula LeGuin’s classic, A Wizard of Earthsea, the main character, Sparrowhawk, spends most of the book running from a shadow he created in a reckless moment at wizard school.  Finally, the wise wizard, Ogion, tells Sparrowhawk to turn and seek out this shadow.  He does. And the roles of Sparrowhawk and his shadow become reversed.  He becomes the hunter.  At the end of the book, he and this shadow become one.

In my own “Bring it on” moments, I think of Sparrowhawk.

Whenever I get frightened about a new idea, or an onslaught of “stuff” coming up as I attract some cool opportunity, I pause.   I imagine myself turning around with my heart wide open.   I imagine that I’m now facing this “stuff” head on.  Like Sparrowhawk, I become the hunter. I smile and remember to say, “Bring it on.”   It changes everything.

Remember this. You are wise enough to know when you’re hiding from your true purpose, or from an awakening, or a new direction.  You’re wise enough to know when you are avoiding, or distracting yourself, or playing games of smallness. If you are nodding as you read this, then find a way to create your own ritual. Find a way to tell the Universe you’re ready.

And then Bring It On.

40 COMMENTS ADD A COMMENT
  • Diane Cruz

    I would love to link this post to my mentoring/yoga blog? How do you feel about this?

  • Jayme Longson

    I just wrote this-Bring it on- in the comment section of Gorgeous for God with Lisa Natoli a couple of days ago where Lisa is talking about Swine flu being a gift to us.
    ” Bring it on or Bring me Home” is what came to me while my fingers were bouncing along on the keyboard and I didn’t really know what it meant at the time except I desire to live fearlessly.
    Through Lisa’s site I was God-guided here to read your blog today and here it is Bring it On and you have helped bring me clarity that I had not yet experienced.
    So this is a thank you and I love you site. AND you are an inspiration for me. wow…

    Love,
    jayme

  • i let it go

    I was just re-reading this and noticed the profound truth of how you phrased
    “I’m ready to step up and live the life that is mine to live.”

    When you say it like that, instead of ‘live the life I was -meant- to live’ (which I often hear) you powerfully shift the intention and ownership of the life to ones’ self, rather than an external “this is the way it ought to/should be” (because my life was meant to go like this).
    Ahhh–let’s hear it for taking ownership and direction in one’s life! I’m still working on this and am incredibly excited to meet up with you at your June retreat! and I really love your next post too.

  • Positively Present

    I love the idea of telling the Universe to “bring it on!” Life is all about be positive and having a proactive attitude and that really sums it up right there in those words.

    Love your blog and site, by the way!

  • mka

    I’ve been doing some clean-up over on my blog and wanted to make sure that you’d seen all the ones that you’re tagged in. <3

    http://thewayiseeitmka.blogspot.com/search/label/Christine%20Kane

  • Amy

    You are truly gifted when it comes to writing. Thank you!

  • Christine Kane

    Thanks Kate – Mr. Patticus is beginning to show some progress. He was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism – and lost half his body weight in about three months before my vet diagnosed him correctly. So, we’re now treating him and watching some good improvements this week – but it’ll take two weeks before we know for sure how to proceed! (I’ll let him know you were asking. He’ll be happy to know.)

    Thanks for all the other comments too! Great to read other people’s “bring it on” experiences!

  • Stephanie

    Thank you so much for being an inspiration every day. I loved this post; it resonates with me so much. I’ve been thinking of it a lot the last few days.

  • Kate

    This is off topic……how is Mr. Patticus? I hope he is well.

  • Tanya

    Christine –

    I’ve just sent this link to a client I was coaching yesterday…”bring it on” was the summoning mantra that she and I created for her in our session. This was thrilling to read just now.

    It also made me pause and reflect on my own mantras…my most recent is “something wonderful is coming”…I now see how this is far too passive for me.

    With that in mind, I’ll take a break from work, go do a Bikram practice, have a great sweat and beckon the universe.

    Many many thanks,
    Tanya
    http://tanyablog.wordpress.com/

  • Mindful Mimi

    Christine,
    This is so in line with the advice you gave me recently. And guess what? My fear is gone and I AM actually good at this. So thanks for telling me that and you can read about my creative workshop and look at the results here:
    http://mindfulmimi.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-doing-something-youre-afraid-of.html
    MImi

  • sema

    A very inspiring post.Bring it on! powerful words to motivate myself to face my challenges bravely and to succeed.

  • Heidi Fischbach

    Oh, and: I loved The Wizard of Earthsea when I was 16. I was having a terrrrrrible time of things and a teacher pulled me aside and gave me a copy. Mr. Mac was the teacher’s name. Gotta love it! And yes, he taught “computers” — this was in 1984. And yes, they were macs, Apple 2e’s, to be exact. Thanks for the memory of Mr. Mac and The Wizard. xo

  • Heidi Fischbach

    Oh my! Great! I recently wrote a blog entry called “Dear Life, Bring it on! Love, Heidi” and I’m just now realizing what I might be doing! Yikes. Yay. Look ma, no hands!

  • Debbie

    OK! I’ve been living the last year with more of a *sigh* Here comes more !#?+:(** thought process. So much to deal with. Yet I know in my soul there is a better life for me. My word is Release and. I have been very actively working that. As I anxiously await next week’s package, I will try to stand up taller and say, “Bring it on!”

    Thanks. Take care.

  • Michelle

    Amen. Bring it on!!!

  • B

    This is exactly what I needed right now. Thank you.

  • mka

    I look like one of those goofy wiggle headed dogs you see in the back window of a car right now. Awesome.

  • hayden

    Thank you for this. I really think I’ve come to a point like this in my life. In my own way, I think I’ve been trying to say exactly that, “bring it on.” I’ve always imagined it like jumping off a cliff in a dream, exhilarating and frightening at the same time.

  • Dee

    I’ve said it before and I say it again… THE WORLD NEEDS MORE CHRISTINES… you are a TRUE inspiration… and one day is one day I am going to come to your re-treat and inhale some of your inspiration for a WHOLE weekend long… you ARE amazing!!!

  • Tim

    Christine:

    Wow, great mind-altering post! As someone who just turned 40 and looking for career and life satisfaction, I need to get off autopilot and start making different, better decisions. We all tend to live in fear and by asking to “bring it on,” it helps us to face these fears head on and take back some power. Thanks for this!

  • Christi

    Teary in the good way. Just…wow. Great timing, Christine. Thank you so much.

  • becky

    mmm. much needed insight. Open…yeah. That’s scary.

  • Missy Reed

    Christine – I am at the brink of “Bring It On” as I am here on your blog tonight to click on the “UpLevel Your Life” link to sign up. Having the gift of reading this post first is exactly what I needed to be ready to leap…. I know the net will appear! Thank you and blessings to you!
    Love,
    Missy

  • Giulietta Nardone

    Super post Christine. Love the Nin quote.

    Just noticed the acronym for Bring It On is BIO. To live the BIO we were destined to live we must “bring it on”!

    I love to shout out all sort of desires. It really works.

    thx

    G.

  • Lara

    Bring it on indeed!

  • Jenny

    I can’t even tell you how much I needed this. This post has brought goose bumps. Thank you Christine.
    Jenny

  • LindaDouglass

    Thanks Christine. I’ve been saying that to the Universe for about a month now, without realising it.

  • Evie.E

    Thank you, thank you! Perfectest perfect timing ever! After a phase of end-of-uni panic, I’ve had a turnaround and have been having a private “bring it on” week, last night I made it less private by writing about it in my blog, although in a slightly toned down way. Seeing your post today makes me very happy and excited about what’s ahead of me… No more playing safe and toning down. I’m ready. Bring it on!

  • Tracey

    Hi Christine, I am going through a financial challenge right now and I am saying bring it on I can turn toward it and say I am ready. I am bigger, stronger and bolder, than I ever thought possible. I know that it is almost 1/4 of the way through the year and it may be a little late, but I have decided that my word for the year is ACTION! The quote from Anais Nin is one of my top three favorite quotes. Thank you for this reminder today.
    Dream big and then dream bigger!

    P.S.Looking forward to seeing you at one of your retreats very soon.

  • Mackie

    I have had that “Bring It ON!” moment. Once I got through the upheaval that brought on, I am so much stronger and wiser…and so much more relaxed and calm. Bring it on….I can do this! Great post, Christine!

  • Deborah Wolfe

    Christine, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING YOU!!! Yes, I shouted that 🙂

  • Marie

    I thank you as well – I’ve been getting consumed recently with fears (job, economy, region) and dissatisfaction (stagnation, boredom – ironically at very stressful job). I need to take this attitude and stop my downward slide into even more fear.

  • Lance

    Hi Christine,

    I’d say my “bring it on” thought process really ramped up at the start of this year – and along with the idea you promoted of choosing a word to define the year. My word is “courage”. And while I may not have specifically said the three words “bring it on” – this thought very much was underlying to the word I chose. And it has been coming on ever since I chose that word. “Bring it on” in many and exciting ways. In taking me way outside of my comfort zone. In challenging myself to do what comes from deep inside.

    Bring it on!

    I love this! What a great addition for me – in my arsenal to really live life!!

  • Todd Jordan

    Great advice! So many times we never even face our fears, nor our past. Not only not facing them, but facing them down is powerful.

    I’m going to earnestly work on that process beginning today. Mine was inspired by struggling at work but your words ring true for me as well. Time to tell the universe bring it on and mean it.

  • Elaine

    Wow… This has spoken to be big time – just what I needed to hear today – thank you

  • Anna

    Thank you.

  • i let it go

    Awesome! I used to (and still on occasion) say “Bring it On!” as a way to psych myself up for whatever unknown was coming. But I like your point–it’s not about gritting my teeth and enduring some hardship until I reach the end of it (which usually was my thought perceptions). Life can be effortless.
    I’m at a point where my soul really is calling me forth to a larger life. I’m currently reading “Feel the Fear…and Do it Anyway!” by Susan Jeffers (which I found from your website). How poignant are your words
    “You know that your challenges have a purpose, and that you’re strong enough to find what lessons they offer. You cease running away, and start running towards, knowing that nothing can hurt you.”
    Thanks for encouraging us all on to live our larger, more authentic lives!

  • Tracy

    Hi Christine,
    My husband and I are contemplating a huge job change (for him) which involves a much more visionary role than he has had in the past, a new company culture, and a move across country.

    I have been praying for a change for a while; my own “bring it on” prayer, but have been fluctuating between excitement and terror over this opportunity the past few weeks. This is not what I pictured the change to look like and there are aspects of it that are not so attractive, but generally, it feels like an adventure.

    I read your post today and realized I had been holding my breath on this for a while. Thanks for the reminder to keep my heart open.

    -Tracy

  • Slices of Beauty

    Yeah, Bring It On, I am ready!

    Thank you Christine