It never ceases to amaze me at how quickly we can move through our self-sabotaging patterns when we really put our minds to it.
Last night, I was rereading an old blog post about some wacky vacation patterns that weren’t allowing me to fully have the level of work life balance I wanted on the back end of my travels. The timing on this was cool because I had just gotten home from 4 nights in Boston that morning.
What I noticed was that while there was still some stuff showing up, what was there had shifted, and that’s the game we play because the fear never goes away all the way — we just learn how to be in relationship with it versus get taken out by it.
Back in December, I wrote a newsletter declaring I was going to go to the Grand Canyon this spring to balance my work and travel out more. Interestingly enough, it began to feel as though that was the opposite of balance.
When I began to visualize how I wanted to experience the Grand Canyon, it became clear that a trip like at that time sounded stressful!
At the time I had this revelation, my friend was in the middle of some major renovations on her new home and had been living in AirBnbs for approximately 6 months. If the Grand Canyon felt overwhelming to me, I wondered how it may feel to her…
I knew that I had to have the conversation ASAP, otherwise it would start to occupy my thoughts and become an energy leak, and I needed that brain power to create!
I began to get nervous… what if I was going to put something in her space that wasn’t there? What if she really wanted to go and I let her down? Was I choosing from a shitty story and taking my power away?
At this point, I reached out because I wasn’t about to let the shitty committee rent any more space in my head! Par for the course, everything is scarier in our heads, and she felt exactly as I did, so we decided I would come to see her new home and enjoy Boston.
I knew it was time for a getaway about a week before I left when I began to feel the way I used to feel right before summer vacation, which was no bueno as it meant I was out of gas, and I am not in the business of needing a vacation from my life!
I was feeling sick of my calendar, to do lists, emails, texts, FB messages, social media, ALL OF IT!
When we feel that way, there’s not a lot of space to allow new stuff in, so the best thing we can do is take some time off or slow it waaaayyy down.
After staying in our jammies until noon on Friday, walking around the neighborhood lunching and shopping, we went to a float tank followed by a 2 hour restorative yoga workshop.
When we ask for what we need, we shall receive. I let my pal know in advance that I was showing up tired out, and once again, it worked out perfectly because she was, too. In response to my alert, she created us an uber relaxing first day together.
During the workshop I was flooded with new ideas for my offerings. (Stay tuned!) The night after, I was up until midnight creating. It was obvious that I was supposed to be at that event in order to receive the clarity I was looking for…
While processing all that I created on my vacation, I came up with some takeaways as it relates to balance that I think can support you, too.
GETAWAY: I need a getaway once a month. This is when I truly give myself permission to be OFF. It’s important to note that the getaway doesn’t necessarily have to be a trip that costs money. A getaway could be as simple as taking one long weekend a month and setting your email’s vacation responder so you can rest more easily.
BE A TOURIST IN YOUR OWN CITY: If I take more time to enjoy my own city, I could create the adventurous feeling that a vacation provides. Have you ever noticed you see way more of your stomping ground when you have visitors?!? I do! I am up to things I didn’t even know existed!
DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH HOBBIES THAT YOU GET LOST IN?: It’s easy for me to overwork if I’m not participating in enough hobbies. My favorite thing about my friend is that she is always up to the most unique pastimes. For example, I got to go to an Autocross event and be a passenger in her car as well as some super fast experienced drivers while I was there. I discovered I LOVED it! I promptly text my boo that this could be a past time we do together, and he began looking at older Mazda Miatas we could learn on. Not ready to say when that’ll all come together, but we are going to go to a pretty crazy indoor karting track next month!
Speaking of getaways and living a balanced life, if you didn’t read last week’s newsletter or weren’t yet added, I extended an invitation to mark your calendar for May 23rd from 8 pm – 9 pm EST for a FREE 60 minute workshop: Putting the self back into self care! You will get a sneak peak into my fall retreat: Release. Relax. Restore. Early bird discount is good through the end of the month, and this workshop is a great way to see if this is for you! Simply reply to this email to get the call info.
