Radically letting go… of anxiety, and over-cooking. All good. According to FitBit, the night after our last dialogue, I got my best sleep in years . I also closed my work (for now) with the marvellous psychotherapist, who has accompanied me through lockdown (we started just before lockdown and worked fortnightly over videoconferencing). She had helped me reach in to my subconscious and befriend many ‘parts’ of myself. The last part to arise was a can-can dancer who just loved her work, but needed a BREAK! Along came this peaceful me who said “Yes, let’s take a break. Take your time. All in good time.”
PIC: peaceful mediator and can-can dancer. side by side.
All is well.
Relax and enjoy.
And I’ve been off Twitter and Facebook and most news for days and days now. My life feels simpler. More repetitive. I now play word games on my phone for a spot of dopamine and mental resetting. The glimpses I get of the news are HORRID. But outside my window, when I’m working, I see rabbits, squirrels and blue tits cavorting on the lawn. That is where my attention can rest, in this reality, and I am at peace – and that (along with my work, and my love of my loved ones) is the best I can offer the world at this moment.
You’ve been working very hard.
Yes. And Abraham says to work less hard. 🙂
Gosh darn tootin right. 🙂
Work wisely instead. Say, ‘It would be wise…’ or ‘It would be prudent…’. That is how you might care for your lovely business, as you would care for a precious child, thinking of its future and its current wellbeing simultaneously.
Why does that make me feel a little noivuss?
Because you’re hearing it with busy brainwaves. Sink, or rise, into those creative alpha brainwaves… That’s it, gazing at trees does it for you, doesn’t it? Tickles your brain… Soothes your attention.
After my diagnosis, I came to see my tree-gazing as visual stimming.
Beautiful.
Now, in this softer state do you see how wise you already are? Do you see how prudent you have been? We are simply saying: turn up the dial on ‘wise prudence’; and turn down the dial on ‘working hard’. That is healthier and more sustainable for you. It will be more fun and it will allow you to do even more good.
Your booking systems, your website [ty, dear G], your social media, your networks, your agencies, your financial tools… My oh my. What a wonder to behold. You are wise and you are prudent.
I am, amn’t I? 🙂 I just want to be helpful. But I also want to be safe and secure, in my old age too.
I used to set myself short, medium and long term business goals and never meet them! I stopped doing that in order to keep my pecker up… I sense it is about just keeping a watchful eye on the short, the medium and the long term.
As if you had three children of different ages. They all need tending in slightly different ways; and they all need you to show your complete confidence and trust that they are doing beautifully. So yes, you keep an eye on each, even the more distant (‘eldest child’) long term. The short term is your baby, and needs lots of attention and care. But don’t forget that the medium term (middle child) is just as precious and in need of your loving eye as the others too.
*****Next day*****
So I took some time yesterday to completely reconfigure my booking and planning system. I abandoned Asana which I’d started using three months ago (and never mastered) and I returned to my old mega spreadsheet style, rebooting it and pimping it for 20/21. I feel much more able to view the whole financial year now. Good!
So that helps you look after the youngest child (the days and weeks ahead) and the middle child (the whole year at a glance). How will you look after the oldest child (the next 2-20 years)?
Thank you for asking this. Good question. So, thanks to Lockdown, I’ve been able to start thinking ahead to Older Me and good health. My new daily schedule has aspects I can replicate for years to come: qigong, walking, good sleep, working from home but not over-working… Also, thanks to Noom, I am completely relearning how to eat according to the actual calorific needs of a woman who is no longer a 20 year old metabolic machine. So, now a stone lighter than at the start of Lockdown (yes, that’s about a pound per week, so no rush job!), I am creating healthier habits and a fitter body that might enjoy moving in to older age. Good. I am so pleased and appreciative. Before Lockdown, my rhythms were simply damaging my health. Bless this period of rest, renewal and reflection on what actual is sustainable for a body. (I’ve finally stopped mimicking my beloved Dad flinging himself in and out of the house in his power suit in a haze of hot stress!)
So next is: how best to enjoy life, people and work. 🙂
Wonderful! What would be wise? What would be prudent?
I guess if I’ve looked at Older Me’s physical health, it would be wise prudence to look at Older Me’s financial wellbeing next.
Sounds good.
At the moment, I have no pension. And the savings I’ve got are pretty much owed to tax, to buying a new car and to that one last debtor. So. We have a fresh clean slate to work with.
I need to earn more, don’t I? We live pretty modestly, so it’s not really a case of spending less. I need to earn a whole lot more.
And how will you do that?
I’m guessing it’s not by ‘working harder’? Is it… raising my ‘profile’?
Would that be wise prudence?
I guess so. What is raising my profile? Attaining trust and credibility, I guess…
For now, just play with this phrase, “It would be wise prudence…” and see what happens.
I love these games. Thank you.
Today I am saying “It would be wise prudence…”