When I was in grad school, I became obsessed with the image at the top of today’s blog. So obsessed that it occupied my computer’s desktop for semesters at a time.
Here I was committed to living life from the top of the triangle when the bottom half was (for the most part) a mess.
Being the overachiever that I am, it didn’t impact my ability to look like I was thriving on the outside. I was in love with a great guy, getting good grades, fit as a fiddle, lots of friends, traveling my heart out…
On the inside, I wasn’t having nearly as much fun as it looked like I was. I worked hard for what I had, and it felt like hard work.
I ate like crap.
I thought that 4-5 hours of sleep per night was enough because back then I was “robot Jenn”.
I had romance and friendships, but looking back I can see they were lacking true intimacy because I was too afraid to bring it, and I didn’t even know it.
I wanted to share Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with you today because I’m finding that I use it with clients more and more as it beautifully illustrates all the preaching I do about a solid foundation for business (and life).
When our basic needs are met, we won’t die. We will survive.
When we begin meeting our higher level needs, that’s when we truly have the ability to thrive.
The sad news is that most of us aren’t taught this, and we’re running around trying to play an A game without having the “right” equipment to even make it to the finals. And, if we do make it to the finals, what kind of experience are we having along the way?
The good news is you can take your power back anytime you choose! If you’re ready to make a commitment to thriving now, let’s set you up to have some small wins because it’s the small wins over and over that create the mama jama ones.
We’re going to start with a practice that will allow you to bring more awareness to your life. We cannot shift things we cannot see, so we always begin with noticing. It may not be the quick fix many of us are programed to want, and that’s because quick fixes don’t work. If they do, they are temporary solutions, and that’s not the game I want to bring to you.
- Start by posting Maslow’s hierarchy of needs somewhere you’ll see it on a daily basis so it can be a visual reminder to begin noticing how it’s currently going for you.
- Are you expecting to hit your zone of genius when you’re not even taking care of your physiological needs like eating nourishing foods and getting adequate sleep?
- Is it really that surprising your self-esteem may be low when perhaps your basic human need of love/belonging isn’t being fulfilled?
- How good are your problem solving skills going to be if you’re constantly stressed out about how you’re going to pay your bills?
- You’re not noticing to judge yourself or make yourself wrong; it’s simply to establish how you’re running the show so as to create a baseline of behavior. (If you’re unable to shut down your inner critic while taking this practice on, I’d invite you to seek out the support of a coach, therapist, or other trained professional who can help you as that voice is a form of self-sabotage, which is slowing you down or keeping you stopped somewhere in your business (and life).)
- Once you’ve got the noticing down, how can you begin interrupting your behaviors? Even if you do nothing new at this stage, the disruption is taking some of the pattern’s power away.
- From here, you may want to play with making different choices and doing something completely new and outside of your current behaviors.
If you think it would be more fun to take on something like this with the support of other amazing souls committed to thriving, not just surviving, don’t forget about the retreat I’ll be co-hosting in the Blue Ridge Mountains this November. Early bird discount is good until June 1st!
P.S. If you’d like to catch my interview from the Online Business Success Formula, here it is! Jenna and I talked about:
- When we don’t feel like we have the power, we are not making choices that are really gonna move us forward
- All about the science of woo
- When we’re living in alignment, we’re not leaking energy
P.P.S. If you’d like to get the remainder of the interview straight to your inbox, you can still register here!
