Kay:
Hey Questers and welcome back. It’s Monday, January 4th, which means it’s the real start of the new year. Come on, let’s be real.
Shi:
First Monday.
Kay:
First Monday. This is episode 261 of the Mentorship Quest and welcome back. We are stoked to be bringing you a quote today from Miss Venus Williams and she says, “My motto has always been that you can’t say, ‘Oh, it won’t happen to me’. You have to say, ‘That can happen to me.’ So always be aware that things can happen.”
Shi:
You know Venus is generally regarded as one of the all-time greats of women’s tennis. She’s won first in both singles and doubles. So, she’s a pretty incredibly inspiring woman and she’s part of a sister duo, which makes her one of our favorites. But this quote has a lot to teach us here as we kick off the new year.
Kay:
Yes. Well, she says, you can’t be saying that, “oh, things aren’t going to happen to me.” because really anything can happen. Anything can happen.
Shi:
Anything can happen.
Kay:
Exactly. So many times, we say, “well, that won’t happen to me.” If you’re in sports and you’re constantly playing games, highly competitive games that are very quick, you might think, well, it won’t happen to me that I’ll lose three games in a row or it won’t happen to me that I’ll get shown up at the Olympics or whatever it is. Then lo and behold it happens. So, you really need to be prepared mentally for anything.
Shi:
Right, and giving this advice more generally about focus and awareness and what you can do with those when you intentionally point them towards something. It reminds me of, I mean, I’m no professional tennis player, but I play a lot of Tetris, super dorky. I love to play Tetris on the Nintendo Switch. But there are lots of times where I will win the game by just not giving up. By being at the top and I’m scrambling to get the line. I’m just clearing one line at a time. But there’s that moment when you’re playing and you’re at the top and you’re going to lose anyway that you are ready to just give up or just think I can’t win. But if you just keep plugging away or you think, “it’s possible, it’s possible, it’s possible” you might make a move or clear a line or something that opens it up and you’re able to keep playing. So being able to direct and intentionally focus on something, I think is what Venus is really alluding to here.
Kay:
Well, I mean, this can go both ways. You can be thinking of something negative and saying, well, that won’t happen to me or you can be thinking of something positive or exciting, like winning the game or breaking through to that next level or laying down that new habit in your life. Maybe you’re looking at that and saying, well, that won’t happen to me, but it can happen. Anything can happen. Being aware that things can happen and do happen all the time allows you to take that awareness and as Shi said, be intentional about it.
Shi:
Right and that awareness word is probably our favorite. Here in that last line, “always be aware that things can happen.” Awareness means that you have the recognition that something is possible. If something’s possible, your subconscious can go to mind or go to work figuring out a way to make that happen or what connections that it can make in your life, or what actions or steps need to get taken. Awareness is the name of the game. It’s that first step towards that ultimate creation piece. But by thinking, “oh, it won’t happen to me” you cut off that possibility and you cut off that ability of awareness to be able to direct your subconscious, to attract those things to you.
Kay:
Don’t go cutting off your possibilities.
Shi:
Come on!
Kay:
Come on! You guys have got this! I mean, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be dangerous things on the road. It doesn’t mean that things aren’t going to get weird or scary, or you’re going to be outside of your comfort zone. But if you say that it won’t happen, then it won’t, right? If you say that it can happen then at least it has a possibility if you put enough dedication and time and focus behind it. Shi and I recently have been talking a bit about the word beware. Sometimes you see the word beware and you think, well, that means I shouldn’t go further or maybe it’s something that it gives you that tickle in your belly that says just beware. But really the word beware is a conjunction of two words we’re all very familiar with. So, really, “beware” is about ‘be’ ‘aware’ when you have those signals perk up, look out and focus yourself in a direction that will take you in the direction of your advantage.
Shi:
Bring that awareness to whatever activity or goal that you have right in front of you. Beware doesn’t mean don’t proceed. It just means be aware and often that can mean be aware that there are probably things you don’t want. If you are walking into a situation where your awareness shows you things that are dangerous you have had that awareness and that level of focus, that you can make an informed decision and turn around. Blindly thrashing through something where you should have come in with more awareness and perhaps some more couth is one of those instances we’ve probably all found ourselves in and we realize what beware really means. So, just to remind you of what Venus tells us, she says, “My motto has always been that you can’t say, ‘Oh, it won’t happen to me.’ You have to say, ‘That can happen to me.’ So always be aware that things can happen.
Kay:
Alrighty, gang. So, your quest for today is a bit of a navigating the way quest. What’s one thing you can make yourself aware of today in order to avoid future troubles tomorrow. Are you maybe experiencing some beware signs? That means it’s time to be aware!
Shi:
Hey, if this is a “navigate the course quest” does that make it a mapquest? 😉
Kay:
Mapquest. Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!