Glass Ceilings

I always thought of glass ceilings as those artificial limitations placed upon individuals, typically women, in the workplace; the suggestion, and in many cases the reality, that women could not rise above a certain rank within their organization. This too has come to pass as women shift into executive ranks of companies, although just today I saw a new initiative from the Women’s Executive Network to mentor women for positions on the Board of Directors for Fortune 500 companies. I guess we as women continue to have to break through that ceiling.

All this aside, another view of the glass ceiling was proposed by one of my ME FIRST Retreat participants last weekend. We were discussing intentions and how powerful they are.

Let me pause for a moment to clarify that an intention is not a goal, it is not attached to a concrete outcome. An intention however is a ‘want’, a desire, a question and most definitely an energy. Remember that old adage ‘be careful for what you wish for’ – yep, it’s true! When we set our intentions we want to understand that we are sending out a request to the Universe and that it will be answered, although often not in the form we expect.

Intentions are, never the less very important if we want to shift our life to that place we want for ourselves rather than the life that seems to be dictated to us by others or by life’s circumstances.

Back to the glass ceiling. Donna (not her real name) began to ruminate about how she has been setting a glass ceiling on her intentions. I was definitely curious as she explained that she hesitated to ask for more than she thought was possible. “Was she limiting herself?”, she inquired.

A lively discussion ensued regarding how we are our own worse enemy when it comes to stretching, dreaming and living in the land of possibility.

The thing is an intention is a powerful force, a wave of energy we set forth. Can we really contain it, set that glass ceiling. It is my belief that the Universe knows better that we do what is in our highest good and it is not limited by our personal belief systems regarding our self-worth or what is possible.

I did think Donna’s comment however to be thought-provoking and I am examining where in my life I am imposing my own glass ceilings. And I have found a few already. Man, I really want to start breaking through, because I have a lot I want to offer the world and I have no time for artificial boundaries created by my own limited imagination. How about you?

Until next time….

Betty