Rabhia Shuja – Dec 5, 2019
^{Edited by Awais Farooq}

There’s a world, a bubble that I lived in. Scared and unsure to step outside, not because of the world but due to the empire of self-doubts I had built within me. I never really realized what I was missing out; I never really let myself believe that I could survive outside. The change ever so slightly seeped into my life, in the form of heroes and survivors. Slowly and steadily, they showed me the way and I’m finally stepping out into the world. This is the story of my recent effort to leave my cocoon; my comfort zone.

Prologue

Among my heroes, Max Babri is dear and special to me. If I had to introduce him, I’d say he’s an excellent example of a humane human; kind, loving and helping. In addition to this, he’s the owner and CEO of The Konsultants, he’s a hypnotherapist, a sports psychologist and much more. I had always really admired him, but mostly from within that bubble I loved to stay in. I would watch his videos online but would never have the guts to go to one of his workshops, or even inquire how I could join one.

Now, the plot twist is, he’s my uncle by relation and it could’ve been really easy if I had just tried asking him. Yes, stupid of me, I know. I’d change the word stupid with shy, though, if I were you.

The Awakening

This part begins with Amal Academy; heaven for shy caterpillars like me that want to grow and fly. I’ll share about my Amal journey another time around but for now, what matters is the lesson I learned there last week; going #extramile. When my uncle shared a post about his workshop this week, my first instinct would have been to ask if it would go online somewhere. Instead, thanks to the rewiring, I asked him if I could attend it.

Now, I’d love to say it was a magical moment, stepping out of this bubble but in my head, my anxiety department was going haywire and alarms had gone off; my defense army was in line, waiting for the ‘no’ that would come anytime now.

The Bridge

Surprisingly and unsurprisingly, the answer was ‘sure’. He shared that as far as he knew, it was open for guests too. Happy and elated, I went the #extramile to apply via their form and also sent in an email to secure my spot. I waited and waited, minutes turned into hours and hours turned into 4 days. Having accepted that I might not be invited, I added new tasks for the next day and changed my focus to my other tasks. When I least expected, I received the call and now I was officially invited and allowed to attend it.

The Enlightenment

The brief picture of me before the session can be described in one line: I was really nervous but extremely excited. As I was early, I started a conversation with Ms. Rabia Rashid. She’s an incredibly sweet lady, who was kind enough to share a few of her experiences and knowledge with me.

The workshop itself, the knowledge and experience, the motivation, it’s something I cannot put to words. He taught us how to feel wonderful, he taught us how to forgive and be free of the burden, he taught us how to be free of compulsions and make choices instead.

And it ended with an amazing reward for me; his appreciation in front of everyone, which meant the world to me.

Epilogue

I’ve shared this with as much emotional transparency as I could, to share it with my fellow caterpillars. Remember, we’re not weak, we’re just waiting to finally be awake.