Hi, friends 👋🏽. I’m Stacy Casson, Chief Play Officer at Things to Think About, LLC. With over twenty years of continuous improvement experience, I’ve learned to stay calm in a crisis—unless you’re that jerk in the white Tesla who doesn’t understand how indicators work. Get ready with me!
Is your calendar packed to the gills? Are you constantly double or triple-booked? Do you groan when your alarm goes off? You don’t have to face the overwhelm alone. I write this blog to help us get ready for the week ahead. As Dan Martell says, “A problem well defined is a problem half-solved.”
This week, we will seek inspiration from the Poké Tarot Pack by Blueberry Blanket. I was inspired to use this deck because Erin Corine Johnson had no issues pulling a card or two during her R.I.S.E. Changemaker’s Academy, which made me think about being my authentic self.
Step 1: Celebrate Your Wins
Pause for a moment:
What’s one thing you accomplished this week—big or small?
Did you finally make that dreaded phone call?
Hit your workout goals?
Spent quality time with your chosen family?
This week, I spent quality time with my family. My sisters, brother, and I co-facilitated a kindness keepers meeting with our kids. I also wrote some posts that I feel are bolder and closer to how I want to express myself.
Drop your win in the comments or share it with a friend! Now, let’s proactively plan for the week ahead to build emotional resilience and reduce overwhelm.
Step 2: Where are you now?
Wow, wow, wow!!! I pulled The Devil. Banette assumes the role with two Houndooms as the hell hounds. At first, I thought the cards were calling me out for the number of hours I have spent playing this yarn game on my phone. The Devil is typically associated with our shadow side and the parts of our personality we keep hidden away from ‘polite’ society. Its ability is insomnia, and it is possessed by pure hatred. I honestly did not realize that I probably have some deep-seated resentment to process. During our Kindness Keepers meeting, the kids were concerned that the club would be about optics. Our goal is to help each other find better tools to process our big, ugly feelings. Is there anything you are dreading in the week ahead?
Challenge: Take a minute and vent on paper. Did you notice anything of which you were unaware? What does holding a grudge cost you?
Step 3: Find your inner strength
The Strength card offers guidance on handling emotions. Pyroar resembles a lion and can viciously attack with fire. Florges holds this potentially dangerous creature without fear and is a healing and calming presence. We find different ways to self-soothe. Meditation and exercise can be helpful. Other people choose to abuse substances or numb themselves on their devices. Banette holds the power of self-destruction. You have a choice to make.
Mini-exercise: Do you notice when you are getting into Pyroar territory? When you are aware that you want to lash out, how does that manifest in your body? Does your breathing change? Are you clenching your fists? Remember, you don’t have to accept every invitation to a fight.
Step 4: Get ahead of the trouble
I’m learning that when I release my feelings, it’s often not about recent events. Many years ago, I got a new car, and the first week, the fan belt broke. I went to the dealership and proceeded to cry for a full thirty minutes. The fan belt was the tipping point for years of unexpressed emotions. Camerupt is weighed down by all the wands it is carrying. Tens are associated with the end of a cycle.
This card was reversed, which means I struggle to take on too many things. What is weighing you down?
Monitor your energy levels this week and identify your limits to better understand your tipping point and prevent overwhelm.
Step 5: What can you do differently?
I’ve always found the Lovers card to be an inverse of the Devil card. Both have two figures at the base of a larger one. Swoobat emits sound waves, and depending on the context, they can be a source of destruction or courtship. Luvdisc is a fish that does better when paired. Swoobat is overseeing the courtship of Illumise and Volbeat, two fire-fly Pokémon whose love is creating constellations in the sky.
We can be chained to our hatred, or we can choose a more loving approach.
Step 6: Where do we go from here?
Yveltal is a dragon-type Pokémon that sucks the life energy of everything around it. We have another ten, which is the end of a cycle. This card can be viewed as hitting rock bottom, or we can think of it as a metaphor for slaying our dragons. What thoughts and mindsets no longer serve us? When we reach the end of a cycle, it’s hard to let go and embrace change. We can let our grief and grudges take everything good from us. What do you need to release? What isn’t working?
To recap:
- We have aspects of our personality that we aren’t proud of within ourselves.
- We need to choose how to respond.
- Understand your tipping points.
- Seek alternatives.
- When you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. Technically, you can grab a shovel and dig deeper, but why?
- You do have the seeds of destruction and healing within. The choice is yours. Namaste
Need a Little Extra Support?
If you’re finding it tough to carve out time for yourself or need a reset, I offer Calm Down Sessions designed to help you get the headspace you deserve. Sometimes, a quick chat is all it takes to get back on track.
Ready to tackle your overwhelm? Let me know what’s happening, and we can schedule a brief call to brainstorm solutions together. Book Now: https://calendly.com/thingstothinkabout/calm-down
What did you learn this week? What is one thing you need to release? Drop your thoughts in the comments or send me a message—I’d love to cheer you on!
Picture Descriptions: 5 cards: 1. XV The Devil – A ghostly grey doll with a zipper for a mouth and yellow eyes exuding a blood red vapor floating above two hell hounds who are staring at us while surrounded by fire. 2. VIII Strength. A flower nymph gently holds a lion-type creature beneath a flowery arch. 3. A shaggy camel-type animal carries a burden of wands along a grassy path. The card is upside down. 4. VI The Lovers. A celestial scene where two fireflies woo each other against a blue sky. There is a circle resembling a crescent moon, lined with heart-shaped fish, that appears to be a portal into a constellation-strewn night sky. There are flowers at the base of the moon portal, and a bat-like creature oversees the insect lovers. 5. X Swords. An upright dragon creature with huge claws is struck by ten swords against a golden, swirly sunset.
R.I.S.E. Changemaker's Academy: https://www.holamagnolia.com/rise
BlueberryBlanket: https://ko-fi.com/blueberryblanket
