At my house, we love Phineas and Ferb– adults and children alike! At the end of one episode, the evil Dr. Doofenschmirtz gets sucked into a tornado while driving in his van. While the credits are playing, you’ll occasionally hear him call out, “I am getting deeezzy!” and at the very end he ponders, “Maybe if I turn eeento the spin?” And suddenly his van is spit out of the tornado while he screams in fright. It cracks the family up every time we watch.
That got me thinking…so many of us turn away from what scares us or intimidates us, thinking that somehow avoiding it will get it done, get us braver, or get rid of whatever is causing us anxiety. Let’s call this…oh, I don’t know….FEAR, maybe? 🙂
I recently heard the phrase “lean into the fear.” And though I liked it, it didn’t put an image in my mind like “turn into the spin” does. These phrases both mean the same thing. When you turn into the spin, you turn TOWARD your fear–making the phone call, purchasing the program, starting the business, expressing your feelings, whatever it is that scares you–and I think you’ll find, like Doofenschmirtz did, that by turning into the spin, you get spit out of the fear! That’s what I’ve found to be the case for me.
Leaning away from the fear usually shows up in procrastination, or “constructive time wasters” like scrubbing baseboards, repainting a room, or catching up on email. All this does is make the tornado grow bigger, blacker and more ominous.
When you find yourself turning away from the spin, catch yourself, and simply turn the wheel the opposite way. Go INTO the spin and find out how rewarding it is just to do it! And I’ve been pleasantly delighted by the results of turning into the spin. I’ve met some incredible people and had some amazing conversations that never would have happened if I hadn’t turned into the spin. There are people who are literally waiting for you to turn into your spin and bless their lives.
What has been your experience with turning into the spin? Comment below and let’s talk!