Yesterday, I woke up and did all the things and needed a nap by the afternoon. It is the start of the Lunar New Year, a New Moon, and new ventures for me. Today feels like I encountering so many synchronicities. Another friend of mine is on the new things path as well and both of us are facing up to our bad habits. Does it have to be either/or? Can decisions be yes/and? I've overcome my analysis paralysis today by not fighting inertia or compulsion. Watch Duran Duran's 'New Moon on Monday' because the song popped into your head? Yes! Watch the extended music video movie and panic that I'm wasting time? Did I mention that my Medium article daily suggestion was an article titled "3 Signs You Are Wasting Your Time And Your Life?" I have an ambitious agenda planned for my day and I am struggling. What's the rush? Another friend is also struggling with decision overload. We can't do all the things all at once so I think I am little the little bird in my mind give me clues about my next steps.
My coach Yinka Ewuola reminded me that feelings are not facts. It has been tricky juggling what I need to do and when to push forward and when to retreat. All the random messages and alerts I have received today have told me to push through. The person I want to be honors their commitments and accomplishes what they set their minds to do. I'm trying to explore the undercurrents of my moods and how to leverage my strengths and weaknesses to the path of least resistance. Not giving in and giving up mind you, but moving forward. So many distractions are bubbling up to the surface and it is difficult to navigate. I do not want to swim upstream but take advantage of the flow of the currents of life to accomplish my goals. I want to kick off my Pokémon Challenge tomorrow and admit that I am a bit overwhelmed even though everything is written down on paper. Nobody knows what its "supposed" to look like so perhaps I can cut myself some slack.
Being all fired up and ready to go puts me at risk of burning out. Fires need to be nurtured and tended to otherwise they will either flare up or go out. Thankfully I have a strong community of family and friends who hold me accountable. Today I was going to betray myself and do something that I have actively resisted in the past. Thankfully, I decided to devote my time and energy to myself. If you caught my recent LinkedIn Live "Wisdom from the Pokémon", you may recall that I was supposed to stop putting my energy into building other people's dreams. I am giddy with excitement and also terrified of doing my latest project. I was reminded by another amazing lady during a powerful collaboration that we have to put in the work to enjoy the success. I had great fun developing my latest idea and I am holding on to the vision of it being a great success. I do not have to set myself on fire to keep other people warm to paraphrase Penny Reid. Wow! I just got an alert to read "How to Instantly Feel Better (Even When Life Seems Really Hard).
A unique definition of balance from the American Heritage Dictionary is "the power or means to decide." This day has been about millions of tiny decisions that either tip the scales in favor of my goals or failure. How can I integrate the idea of yes/and? I can acknowledge my feelings. (Thank you Candas Ifama Barnes for your timely article) I can also remember that my feelings are not facts. Yes, I am experiencing overwhelm. Yes, I am putting pressure on myself for a deadline I constructed. Why do we use words like deadline anyway? I mean, it has dead in it. Do I want to be associated with death? The first defintion from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is "a line drawn within or around a prison that a prisoner passes at the risk of being shot." Am I at risk of shooting myself in the foot? I think I prefer the phrase "due date" since that is associated with birth and I am trying to birth a new thing. I have the power to decide my next step. I am going to now celebrate that I have completed this blog. Yay me! What are you going to balance? Namaste.
