A few months ago, I was meditating with 150 new Martha Beck coaches during their Meet and Greet with Martha, and a single word floated up into my consciousness: “confidence.”

I didn’t know where, within me or without, that word came from, but I knew instantly-just as clearly as I know that my version of nachos is the best on the planet-that “confidence” was integral to everything I would do next.

You see, I mentor new coaches and I coach empty nesters. Sometimes these groups overlap, but mostly they are quite separate from each other. Suddenly, with that one word floating to the surface like the answer in a Magic 8 ball, I knew what they had in common: lack of confidence. With that realization came an overwhelming urge to act. And so I did.

I overhauled my entire website, hired a CEO, and began developing new services in support of my newfound understanding of what I have to offer. At the same time, my husband and I decided to remodel the entire downstairs-oh, and as long as we were doing that, we figured it was time to retire the concrete slab that used to serve as our son’s basketball court, since he’s out of the house now and on his own. And-of course-our efforts over the past few months to adopt a new dog came to fruition just as we started gutting our family room.

When you and the Universe are in alignment to take action, things start to happen really, really fast. Even when it appears, in the moment, that the timing really sucks.

According to my mentor, Martha Beck, all of us move through different phases (she calls them “squares’) during our lives, often triggered by a catalytic event (a negative one, like death or divorce-or a positive one, like a new job, baby, or, well, dog). Sometimes, we are launched into change by the awareness that we can no longer be-no longer want to be-the person we once were.

Martha calls this Square One-when you have no idea what’s going on. Square Two, on the other hand, begins when you become aware of what feel like prompts, instruction, signs, or suggestions for how to reorganize your old identity into something very different.  It’s the dreaming and scheming phase of the cycle, and I entered it with the sign “confidence” and my starting to imagine what I wanted my living space and new website to look like.

Next up: Square Three, which is the implementation phase when we dig in to make all those dreams come true. Martha’s mantra for this stage is, “It’s hard as hell and that’s okay”.  I actually think of it as “this is exhausting as hell and I need to rest” phase, but maybe that’s because I’m still in the middle of it. There’s a Square 4-you made it!-but I’m not there yet. I’ll let you know what it feels like in another blog post.

But here’s the point about dream implementation that I want to make: things WILL go wrong. Plan on it. The wallpaper I loved was backordered and everything was predicated on that particular paper, like the paint color of my walls. My newest offering, “I’ll Have What She’s Having,” was originally called “Dynamic Dinners for Soulful Sisters,” but my partner didn’t resonate with it. The dog I had in mind was any color but black–mostly because I didn’t want to be reminded of my last dog, a solid black bundle of love who passed away several months ago.

Here’s what I learned. When I gave up my attachment to the wallpaper and looked at something that was available, I saved several hundred dollars and found something I liked even better. When I considered that my partner Kelley might be right about “Dynamic Dinners for Soulful Sisters” being sorta cheesy, “I’ll Have What She’s Having” was born. Ten times better! When I let go of my attachment to having a particular colored dog, we found the dog of our dreams.

Next time when things go wrong or don’t work out the way you planned-because mostly, they don’t–you may feel confused, disappointed, or even angry. This is temporary and part of what happens when there’s a hiccup in your plan. Allow yourself to feel that disappointment and then consider adopting a “this or something better” mindset. The results may be just as good and perhaps even better than you imagined.

I’ll Have What She’s Having is sold out.

Luna the black dog is the newest love of our life – and guess what? Portugusese Water Dogs don’t shed.

The wallpaper is gorgeous . . . and the money I saved helped pay for all of Luna’s new toys!

If not this, something better.  Oh, yes. Please and thank you!