I am so excited to check-in with you. How are you?
At the time of this writing, I am doing pretty good, still on hiatus until Nov 1.
So far my hiatus has included more intense labor on my computer than I had anticipated.
But I think I’m finally done with all of that, thankfully!
This hiatus is about having time to do the things I don’t ordinarily do,
and write the type of things I don’t usually have time to write,
but mostly…
I just want to enjoy life and whatever comes with a spaciousness I don’t ordinarily have!
I had planned to copy-and-paste a piece of writing with you this week,
the second in my series of what I call my “greatest hits”
articles I think speak to something important that I want you to read.
But thie writing below was perfectly on theme with my life
and I felt inspired to rewrite it quite significantly today!
I’m on hiatus but that was fun.
Try the new writing exercise below so you can have fun writing, too.
As I write last week, absolutely essential things don’t stop being essential!
If you missed that article on your #1 writing priority,
you can read about it and try the exercises included on my blog right here.
See you next week!
xo
———-
🦋 💜 🌿
Can you relate to this?
Here is what I have noticed:
When I feel like I don’t have enough time,
🏵️ listening to myself goes out the window,
🏵️ my self-care goes out the window and
🏵️ all sorts of other fun and healthy things go out the window.
I’ve been racing around my whole life, feeling like I didn’t have enough time…
At 11 years old, I started exploring the line that divides a run from a walk.
(Running wasn’t allowed inside the school. I could ‘walk’ pretty fast, though.)
Here I am. Thirty six years old now.
And I have learned something.
The instant gratification of going fast can feel like a high, but it’s a lie.
Rushing usually, in the long-term, ends up costing me time, money and other resources.
So does rushing around REALLY save me time?
Not really.
Giving yourself more time to do thing
and taking a deep breath…
is a great way to make sure you are taking care of yourself,
thinking in a bigger and more genius way,
as well as getting more things done.
Wow, I wish I didn’t have to say that!
I freaking love speeding down the hallway of life!
Man, rushing can feel good…but eventually it started giving me anxiety.
Over the last year, I’ve realized that I have a LOT of impatience,
especially when it comes to MYSELF.
And it’s really not good for me.
What I’ve seen from working with writers and small business owners for 10 years, is:
almost universally, writing always takes more time than you think it is going to.
If you are reading this, you are probably done with school deadlines.
So you are probably the one making the deadlines.
The thing is you can be kind of shitty about it.
(Sorry.)
Like you probably wouldn’t be such an A-hole to a friend,
but when it’s your book or your website home page,
the fact that you don’t have it done ‘on time’ means you are a miserable, lazy scumbag!
We can be so hard on ourselves
that we put blinders on.
I know it’s almost all of us with dreams for our book or business or project.
And if you feel too bad about not making progress fast enough
you lose sight of reality.
Reality is asking:
On time? On time for what?
It’s not like you are missing a bus.
Wasn’t this timeline something you just pulled out of a hat?
Wasn’t it actually completely arbitrary?!
Oh yeah.
Right.
It is.
And when you see the reality, you can change your mind.
You can adjust. You can make changes.
You can be realistic with your expectations.
You set things up so you can live like a human and not a machine.
I believe in you!
You have the power to stop being a shitty boss to yourself, and
set goals and deadlines that don’t make you feel terrible.
Because sometimes it takes time to produce something you are PROUD of.
That is really satisfying.
And at the end of the day isn’t your mental health more important than whatever you accomplish anyway??
I think so.
I also believe it’s possible for you to make progress writing AND not hate your life.
I HAVE SEEN IT HAPPEN.
It’s really not that rare.
So tell this to your inner meanie, the one that’ll drive you crazy, telling you to go faster:
(Blows raspberries)
As for me–I have big dreams for you, instead.
What if you let yourself have a little bit more time?
to write
🌷 a new bio for your website,
🌷 your first blog post,
🌷 your sales page, or
🌷 a few more chapters of your book.
And felt less crazy, less ungrounded;
more expansive, and grounded and GOOD?
No matter how long it takes, even at a snails pace,
as time goes on, you will STILL be farther along than you are now.
Let it be spacious, let it be expansive
slow down
listen to yourself and be kind to yourself.
How? Here you go…
Shift your Values Exercise
Let’s explore your writing projects, business demands or whatever else is feeling urgent or making you feel behind.
Try journaling on this collection of questions for 5 minutes.
What deadlines are pressing on you?
Where are you feeling pressure to rush or perform?
Does something need to be done by a certain time? Or in a certain order?
Why?
How does all of this make YOU feel? Mentally, emotionally?
What happens in your body when you think about these deadlines or time-lines?
Now take a deep breath.
Whew! That’s probably a lot that you have been carrying.
Now, reflect:
If you are really honest with yourself, is any of this arbitrary or not based on reality?
How can you shift your perception and way of looking at things to give yourself more space or time?
Now that you have these new ideas, how do that make you feel?
How does that compare to before?
Is there anything you need to make this new longer time line happen ex. help from someone else?
SERIOUSLY WRITE THIS OUT or
talk it into a transcription app,
sometimes thinking silently without getting your thoughts out of you keeps you stuck in a spiral.
That’s why in my writing groups we always do bursts of writing live together, and
during this writing time, people always have ah ha moments.
Since I’m not with you, you’ll have to set a timer for 5 mintues and do it on your own this time!
Please, if you feel pressed for time or behind
let yourself actually go through the process of finding your own answers to these questions.
It’s possible you only need a few minutes before a new idea comes to you.
Can’t wait to hear what shifts for you.
Give yourself the gift of time and space!
If deep down you know that you need to slow down, please listen.
Your brain may not understand how you are going to do everything but you have to get out of your mind so you can reset from the strain of hustle mode.
Take a break to get into the present moment,
and more often than not,
the magic of inspiration will come as soon as you start to really let go.
Let me know how it goes!
I would love to hear how this message resonates with you.
Just hit reply to keep me in the loop.
This article is the second in a series:
An invitation to explore your values and decide what matters in your writing process.
Check out the final installment of this mini-series coming next week!
P.S. If you like this article, you will probably enjoy the Winter Writing Group!
Are you ready to walk your talk?
Not just talk about teaching self love, or following your intuition, or being fully self expressed…
but to DO THAT,
even more richly, even more authentically as you write for your book, business, or soul-led writing projects.
We’re here for you in the Winter Writing Group,
an intimate (but affordable) 6 month group coaching program dedicated to using writing
- to be of service to others,
- to listen more deeply to yourself and
- to nurture your talents and inner genius
so you can express yourself better in writing that just might change the world.
Stay motivated to write, integrate creativity-nurturing valueswith exercises and customized coaching, get help to make your writing better with feedback and individualized support,
and walk your talk as a writer, creator or business owner so you can
express your deepest, most genius writer-self that something important to say!
You’ll feel deep satisfaction that you are doing the things, serving the people and writing the words that really matter.
Feel the love & build on something enduring step by step for your book, business or other soul-led writing project.
Join us!
The Winter Writing Group is a 6-month writing group coaching program opening up November 16th.
Spots are limited so click the link to get first grab at the available openings!
