Jessica Soroky continues her series Leadership is a Choice.

Sleep is a funny thing. For some it comes easily, but is filled with restless dreams. For others it is a light switch: on, off, on.

The minutes and hours tick away and the closer the sun gets to peaking out the closer the alarm is to waking me up. There are few mornings where this doesn’t jolt me awake. I am not one of those lucky individuals who can hit snooze over and over again. Once the alarms brings me to consciousness, turning my brain off and enjoying more quality time with my pillow is gone from my reality.

This morning in particular I was wide awake the minute the alarm went off, but as I watched the snow fall outside my window I made a choice to start my day reading. I stayed warm under the covers with only the arm I used to hold the book exposed.

While I read I came across this quote, “We are fish swimming in water having no idea that water exists.” – Robin Rice

My brain immediately went to my favorite leadership movie – The Matrix.

Morpheus - "The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even 
now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your 
window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when 
you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your 
taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to 
blind you from the truth."
Neo – “What truth?”
Morpheus – “That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you 
were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or 
see or touch. A prison for your mind."

Where is the alarm clock designed to help us know the water exists and see the matrix? How does one get woken up from the world and the reality one has always known. How does someone wake up to see everything that has always been there, a life of limitless possibilities; a life with no boundaries and no barriers?

There is no such product on the market that can jolt you awake with the swiftness of the alarm clock because to wake up in that sense you have to want to. You have to be open to it and surround yourself with people and material that will not only welcome you into your new consciousness but stand next to you when you get tired and wish for sleep again.

No one likes to leave the comfort that is snuggled under the covers where your world is quiet and peaceful. It is HARD to pull the covers back and expose yourself to the horribly, cold air to start your day.

It is HARD to leave the comfort of all the limited life, the powerless existence, and the mental states below the line. It is HARD to expose yourself to personal responsibility. We are born into those cozy mental states, it is everything you have been taught and all that you have known.

Since there is (currently) no alarm clock for “personal responsibility, freedom, and choice” please allow me to be that for you. (Don’t worry, this alarm doesn’t come with shrill sounds.)

Ring, Ring… Good morning, this is your wake up call. I know it feels different at first, but what awaits you in this level of consciousness is a freedom far better then the warmth of the covers on a cold morning.

Only when you are ready to wake up – will you do so.

When I woke up I didn’t know it had happened. All I knew was that all of a sudden a feeling I had had my whole life – a feeling that something was off – was gone. I felt alive – like my life was purposeful I didn’t even know what that purpose was. It didn’t matter. I had no doubts in those early groggy moments that if I stayed awake I could and would do anything I put my mind to.

Once you choose to wake up from the well known comforts of denial, blame, shame, obligation, and justification, they will tempt you. They will try to convince you life is much easier asleep than awake. You may have moments, or days, even weeks where you allow sleep to take over.

The problem with going back to sleep is that once you wake up you can’t erase that feeling. You may be able to ignore it for a while but the power of personal freedom and limitless existence is one that cannot easily be wiped away. It will persist.

That’s when your surroundings matter – lean on this community full of members at all different spots in their journey. Find a coach or friend who can be your wake up call and reminder when you need it.

There is no real going back. You will be given an opportunity every hour of every day to choose to be awake, to practice responsibility and to live free, powerful and at choice.

*Ring, Ring..   *

| photo 1 | photo 2: The Matrix |

Jessica Soroky, CSM

Jessica is a Certified Scrum Master with over three years of practice in agile delivery and seven years of team leadership. She is also the youngest participant in The Leadership Gift™ Program and its growing worldwide community of leaders and coaches. After five years of nonprofit development through Nellie’s Catwalk for Kids, Jessica continues her leadership journey in state government, not-for-profit, and private sector leadership studies.