10X Bolder with Nora McIntosh

Beyond Limited Choices: Finding Option Unicorn

• Nora McIntosh • Season 1 • Episode 2

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What do you do when you're stuck between two terrible options? In this debut episode of 10X Bolder, I introduce the life-changing concept of "Option Unicorn" – the miraculous third option that exists beyond our limited perspective.

Whether you're facing tough choices in relationships, career, finances, or any other area, this episode offers practical guidance for discovering your own Option Unicorn. Learn how to overcome the fear of disappointment, embrace vulnerability in asking for what you truly want, and open yourself to possibilities beyond what you can currently see.

Ready to stop settling for the "least bad option" and start experiencing breakthrough in your impossible situations? This episode will inspire you to dream bigger and believe for more. Connect with me on Instagram @itsnoraxplora and share your Option Unicorn stories!

Follow along on instagram @itsnoraexplora

Speaker 1:

Well, hello and welcome to the first actual episode of the 10X Boulder podcast. I'm Nora and I'm so glad that you're with me. I'm really excited because it's May and it's really special timing the fact that I'm doing this in the month of May, because May actually holds a lot of significance for me and it's my favorite month out of the whole year, and today I wanted to talk about the story of why that is, and before I do, though, I just wanted to mention that when I put out the trailer for this podcast, somebody listened to it and asked me about the fact that I speak so openly about my own faith. He actually said like aren't you afraid that that's going to actually push people away when you talk so openly about that? And the truth is, I want this podcast to be something that resonates with people of all faith backgrounds, and I don't want this to just be the most Christian-y Christian podcast ever. But at the same time, my faith is the center of who I am really, and I don't want to compartmentalize something that's so important to me out of fear. That's the whole thing with this podcast is being bold and not doing things out of fear, and so if I were to hide that because I didn't want to offend somebody or push someone away. Then I wouldn't be authentic to myself or even the vision of this podcast. But, with that said, I want you to know that, no matter your background, I hope you feel welcome here and I do plan on having people on here that are from different faith backgrounds if they'll come on, but I'm excited about that. So, with that said, I want to introduce today's topic, which is something that I like to call option unicorn.

Speaker 1:

Now, what is option unicorn, you might ask Good question. So I don't know about you, but sometimes it can feel like when I'm faced with a decision, I'm a little bit stuck between a rock and a hard place, like there are no good options and really I just need to choose the least bad option, which is kind of a bummer. It's honestly a bummer to feel like I don't have any option that I'm excited about. It can happen in so many areas, like dating, or in financial situations or work or school, but whatever it is, you know it could be for housing. I know I've experienced where it feels like option A is an apartment that is within budget but it's really ugly. Or in a bad neighborhood. That is within budget but it's really ugly, or in a bad neighborhood, and option B is something that has beautiful lighting, but if I were to take it, it would put a huge strain on my monthly budget.

Speaker 1:

And so I was facing a scenario like this at work, and I'm going to keep the details vague, but and this has been a long time ago, but basically there was a scenario where a couple of co-workers had dated previously and broken up, and it was just very tense. It was just pretty toxic and it was pretty close to me and so it really was affecting me daily and I had tried to go to someone to get it resolved. But the situation was ongoing and I really felt trapped, and it came to a point where I really felt like my two options were to either stay stuck and just be in this unbearable situation stay stuck and just be in this unbearable situation or to just leave and get a new job, and I just had no idea where to even begin with that. So, when this was all going down, I was driving home one day and I just prayed, and this is. I feel like I'm always just going to be telling stories of me driving in my car and talking to God, because I do that all the time. But I said, hey, god, I feel really all the time. But I said, hey, god, I feel really stuck. Could you just open up a job for me? I don't even know what it would be, but I need, I need help.

Speaker 1:

And, uh, I had a relatively long commute. It was like 45 minutes in the car and, I kid you not, by the time I got home I opened my phone to a voicemail from the partner of a former accounting firm that I had worked for. I hadn't talked to him in a really long time. I don't even know how he had my number, but he said basically hey, nora, we are trying to hire for a campus recruiter and I thought of you and I thought you would be perfect, call me back. So I call him back and I basically start going down the process of interviewing for this role and it seems so perfect. It seemed like the answer to my prayer. I mean, it was an answer to prayer, but it seems like the solution. That was a no-brainer. You know, I needed to leave. I asked for a job. I got this job. I went to my old office and I saw my old co-workers and they were saying, oh, you'd be so perfect for it.

Speaker 1:

But the thing was in the midst of all of this happening. I was excited, but the more I went through the process of interviewing, I started to get a feeling in the pit of my stomach which is so annoying because I just didn't have peace about it and I thought about overriding that intuition because I just really felt desperate and it just didn't even make any sense, like it made so much sense to just take this role. But I started to feel that stuck feeling again, like option A was to stay stuck or option B was to do something that I just didn't feel congruent with and didn't have peace about. Didn't feel congruent with it, didn't have peace about. And so when all this was going down, I was at church and I still to this day don't know if someone said out loud this phrase or if I heard it in my head, but I heard very clearly the phrase Miracle May. It was May at the time and I didn't know what it meant, but something in me just latched onto it and said miracle may. I don't know what that was supposed to mean, but I'm taking it for myself and I'm just gonna start believing for some crazy miraculous outcome in this situation that I'm in, and so I just said to God hey, god, I see option A and option B and neither of them are great, and I was really into unicorns at the time. And so I just said, god, I'm believing that you have an option for me that I don't see right now, but it's better than both of these options combined, and then some, and it's actually good, and I'm going to call that option unicorn. And so, lord, I'm asking you for option unicorn in this situation at work. And you know so. I did that.

Speaker 1:

And still, though, during this time, I felt so stressed out. It just really felt super high stakes, like if I made the wrong decision. It was like I was up on a tightrope and one wrong missed up, and I would just like contemplating all of this and what decision I was going to make about what was happening. And I realized that I had more peace about staying than I did about taking the recruiter position, even though it seemed crazy, and I was seriously doub the curb of the sidewalk, and I got this picture of a little girl doing the same thing, just laughing and teetering along the edge and not caring if she fell off because it didn't matter. And I felt like God was showing me that I was actually that little girl and when I make a decision I'm actually on a curb with the ground right there because God's involved and he is going to catch me, and so I'm not on the tightrope, I'm on a sidewalk. I just felt peace, that I had freedom to make either decision, to either stay or go, but it was my choice and either way that I would be okay. And that really helped me to get comfortable with this concept of just making choices and not putting so much pressure on myself to get it right, because either thing could be right and I would be okay.

Speaker 1:

And so, with all of that, I walked into the office and I, as I was going in, I was just like I don't know why I said this, but I was just like God. This is totally unrelated, but you know, just while we're talking, um, I was wondering if you could just let me know if there are unicorns in heaven, and I'm sorry if this is bad theology and I'm okay either way, but you know, I've just had a lot going on and it would just really cheer me up to see if there were unicorns in heaven, but no big deal, yeah, just putting that out there. So I walk into the office and the first thing I see is all of my coworkers are wearing horns on their head, like unicorn horns, and it turns out that it was my one year anniversary at this company and somebody had organized everybody else to wear unicorn horns in my honor, and then they got me like rainbow flowers, because I don't even know how they make those, but, yeah, they just wanted to celebrate me. Of all, I totally believe that there are unicorns in heaven, and also more than that, I just really sensed that things were going to be okay, and it truly was not a life or death decision, and things were going to work out, even though I didn't know quite how that would look quite yet.

Speaker 1:

So, within the week, though, the people who had been involved with all of the craziness at work suddenly were no longer part of the company, and that drastically shifted the entire environment that I was working in, and it also drastically shifted my chain of command, so much so that it just felt like all of the stuff that I had been experiencing just completely resolved overnight. It was crazy, and then, as part of that, I was called into the CEO's office and he had been made aware of what was happening, and he was absolutely horrified and he told me that I was going to start reporting directly to him moving forward, and I was able to let him know that I was going to start reporting directly to him moving forward, and I was able to let him know that I had been thinking about leaving, but I decided to stay, and he was really grateful because it was such a tumultuous time at the company and he just really valued me being there, and so I just felt really seen and really valued and it was super fulfilling valued and it was super fulfilling. And I realized that this was truly option unicorn in this scenario, because now I was reporting to this executive that I developed rapport with, and we had a really awesome connection that I really still value, and I was able to feel like I was making a difference, not just in my role but on the culture of the company during a very pivotal time. And more than that, though, it really taught me that there's always more to a situation than the options that I see, and it helped me to realize that I'm never as stuck as I feel when God's involved, and so now that that's happened several years ago, I always ask for option unicorn in every area of my life, whether it's housing or dating, and I just really believe that it has raised my faith level because I've seen so many areas of my life where I thought that my options were limited to something less than I was enthusiastic about and then things just turned around.

Speaker 1:

So if any of this is resonating with you and you've ever felt like you have limited options and maybe you're facing that right now, maybe you feel stuck between a rock and a hard place financially or with dating or with finding the right career I just want to encourage you that there is so much more available than what you can see on the horizon right now and there is breakthrough available for you. I just want to invite you to, and challenge you to, ask God for option unicorn and really open up your heart to what that could look like in your situation. Maybe even take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle and write down all of the subpar options on the left side, option A, option B, and on the right, write down option unicorn and start to dream of what that could look like, even if it feels far-fetched or ridiculous. I think the other piece of this is, if you're anything like me, sometimes I can feel afraid to start to think like that or dream big or ask for too much, because I don't want to feel disappointed, I don't want to feel like I got too big for my britches and so I'd rather just stay small, so I don't have to feel that letdown and I totally get that, because I've felt that way too and I've felt disappointment. But I want to encourage you that actually there is so much available to you on the other side of that fear, of asking for what you actually want. It's a vulnerable, brave, beautiful thing to get real with God and yourself about what you truly want. You truly want, and I believe that dreaming big after disappointment and failure is one of the most courageous things that someone can do, and just the fact that you're listening to this podcast about overcoming fear and being 10 times bolder says a lot about you and what you're going after and what I believe god has for you. Whether or not you believe in God, god believes in you. So, oh gosh, that was cheesy, but it's true. So, anyways, I just want to say that why don't you just try it and see what happens, even if you don't believe in God and if you do? Just if I got in and just ask him to show you what option unicorn looks like in your scenario. I have asked for option unicorn so many times since I've had this happen to me and sometimes I've been disappointed, but more times my mind has been blown and it actually happened in my living situation. I pay like a decent rent for the area and I live in a cottage where I feel like a Disney princess and that's a story for another day. But I asked for option unicorn in a lot of areas of my life and I've had some pretty crazy outcomes. So I just want to tell you that it's very real and it's available for you. So, anyways, I hope that this has been encouraging to somebody. I know that this story is pretty out there, but I also believe that somebody needs to hear it, and if it's you and you have a testimony of what happens, please let me know. I would love to hear. You can find me on Instagram at itsnora I-T-S-N-O-R-A-E-X-P-L-O-R-A. I welcome your questions, I welcome your feedback and I just really want to thank you for listening. I hope you have a great night.

Speaker 1:

We shine bright, turn the key, break free, take flight step by step. We break the cold. Here we go, 10 times, 10 times bolder every day. Fear can't hold us straight away. Rise above. We're feeling strong. This is our fearless anthem song. 10 times bolder every day. Fear can't hold us straight away. Rise above. We're feeling strong, strong. This is our fearless anthem song.