LET’S GROW

If you are a fellow survival mode person, you might understand the feeling that stillness is Death. “If I’m not making moves, I’m sinking”,-  but then you sink anyway when you finally burn out and your momentum is gone. I never thought that a quote from Kung Fu Panda would become so relevant to me: Master Oogway says

This is easier said than done and I have been learning this, especially, over the last few months.

When my relationship ended I was devastated. It made me look at where my life has been headed and if it worked for me ...It didn’t. It was like I was just trying to keep my head above water, which brought constant stress.

Beyond that I didn’t feel like I was truly doing what brings me joy. I would sit at my computer trying to get creative and make moves and my body just wouldn’t do it…so what did I do? Nothing…and nothing felt horrendous.

Here were some common thoughts I had:

• “What a failure”.

• “If you aren’t producing you are going to lose everything”.

• “You are going to end up homeless again”. 

The first thing I had to do was address those thoughts. The idea that if I wasn’t moving, I was dying.

Then the idea of homelessness. I did experience this in my 30s, but, realistically, would that happen again? No - I have my family. I had to start to speak logically to my fears and that was one less thing hindering me.

The second thing I did was go and do things that I enjoy. I worked with a business coach and we actually had scheduled Inspiration days. For me, I would get out in nature and bring a friend and share that experience. SURPRISE! I had new ideas - but also…I was just happy. I was able to bring back my rested mind, that just had new experiences and could create. Even if I didn’t come back and create, I had a good time.

The final thing I did was sit down and write out what it is  that I wanted to do. Now that I had changed how I was speaking to myself. Now that I have allowed stillness and joy into my life. It was like I finally cleared the road for that final conversation. I wrote down 3 things: What I wanted life-wise. What I wanted business-wise. What I wanted health-wise.  Then I got really logical about how to achieve those goals.

Here are some of my favorite ways to be still:

Meditation - I do this in the morning for 10 minutes. It’s pretty amazing the ideas that come through eventually. I do have moments where my brain is loud and I just talk to myself calmly. Eventually, it gets easier. If you are someone who thinks meditation is silly I recommend the book 10% Happier. It’s a no nonsense look at meditation -https://amzn.to/3MxSfzn

Nature - This is essentially moving meditation. We are so disconnected from nature in so many ways, but nature is integral to our wellness. You get to look at beautiful sights, which bring you back to center. You are not getting bombarded by messages, which may stress you out. You are getting exercise, which is good for your body.

Create - I put my phone away and I express myself. Sometimes it’s a video. Sometimes it’s writing this newsletter. Putting my mind to creative endeavors helps keep those negative voices at bay, whether they are internal or external.  Creating just makes me feel good and accomplished

This newsletter was born of all of that work. Business-wise I wanted to create and help people, but not be attached to algorithms. I wanted the people who receive these messages to understand who I am and have opted in to those ideas. A month later and 1000 subscribers to this newsletter later, it just feels right for where I am now in my life. 

I have no idea where this is going, but what I do know is if I had not taken the time to slow down and allow the dust of life to settle I would not have the clarity I have now. There were so many tense moments and negative self-talk in that process, but I wouldn’t change that for the world, because it led me to where I am now. 

Here are some perspectives on how helpful stillness is from The Patreon Section of my Discord. If you ever want to participate in these discussions before the newsletter comes out, come join us!

LET’S DISCUSS

Pick someone in your life and ask them this question or just respond to this email  

LET’S LEARN

READ - Stillness Is the Key - https://amzn.to/3QK6C6o this is the author from the podcast I recommended, going more in depth with lessons.

WATCH - How to Remain Calm - I had a lot of brain explosions with this one https://bit.ly/47qrlBH

LISTEN - The Power of Stillness- https://bit.ly/49hZ55Q This is a quick watch and I always find Sadhguru to have interesting perspectives.

#commissionsearned

LET’S CELEBRATE

LET’S SMILE

ON PERSONAL NOTE

I am very much enjoying emailing with you all. Thank you for getting this newsletter to over 1,000 subscribers in a month! If you have any expertise in how to grow a newsletter, shoot me a message. I am looking to learn!

LET’S CONNECT

There are a few places for you to connect outside of the newsletter!

1. Discord - A place to chat, share, and grow with community members including movie nights every Monday!

2. Instagram - A place to reach out to me personally and get updates more frequently than the newsletter.

3. Patreon - A place to support the content you receive both weekly and daily. Get access to perks like hand written thank you cards, 1:1 video chats, an exclusive podcast, and more!