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 feel like you have to choose who you are going to fail today? You don’t have to face the doubts alone. I write this blog to help executive leaders move from overwhelm to action. As Dan Martell says, “A problem well defined is a problem half-solved.”
Celebrate Your Wins
Pause for a moment:
What’s one thing you accomplished this week—big or small?
Did you pull off a successful event?
Keep your New Year's resolution?
Start a new job?
This week, I finished a document, attended a brunch-and-learn, and volunteered at My Hollywood Pride. I also found goat and oxtail on sale and am sleeping better.
Me after volunteering all day (lol)
Drop your win in the comments or share it with a friend! Now, let’s proactively plan for the week ahead to set ourselves up for success and reduce overwhelm. We draw inspiration from Heather Davis's The Sparkle and Shine Oracle deck.
“When you wish upon a star” – Cliff Edwards (Pinocchio movie)
When the world seems to be going to heck in a handbasket, I lean into the wonders of nature. Have you ever seen a shooting star? I’ve seen one in my lifetime, and I felt that anything was possible. I don’t remember if I made a wish upon that star, and with light pollution, it becomes harder to see. Don’t worry, you don’t have to drive out to the boonies and wait for a miracle sighting. It is important to prime yourself for miracles by believing that you can make your dreams come true. Who knew that it would become commonplace to get in a car with a stranger or stay at a stranger’s house? These new business models came about because someone envisioned them and did the work.
Challenge: Create an affirmation about the future you. Example: I enjoy using my creativity to empower people and improve lives. Who are you without the fear?
“Shine bright like a diamond” – Rihanna.
We wished on a star and then almost gave up when things got hard. I got back into volunteering this weekend and was shocked and a little sad about how much I’ve slowed down. I used to be “go go go” for 10 to 12 hours. Coal becomes a diamond under tremendous pressure. I’m revising my view on my younger self. She did not understand the power of rest and ran up her life on credit. It was easier to make those interest payments back then. We never wonder if pushing yourself that hard is worth the price. The pressure I face now is to rest. Everyone judges people who prioritize their well-being as lazy or entitled. If I had to do the day over, I would have stretched since we did a lot of physical labor. When you are trying to shine bright, you also have the pressure of self-doubt and fear of failure.
Mini-exercise: Stretch. Not just your body, but your mind. Look over your shoulder and note how far you can see. Now imagine being able to see what's in your peripheral vision clearly. Look again. Were you able to turn your head further?
“Dandelions don’t care about the time” – The Rolling Stones.
I’ll never forget my eldest encountering a dandelion and being unable to blow the seeds away. We laughed so hard. Little kids have no issues blowing on dandelions to make wishes or avoiding the sidewalk cracks. Their lives are ones of magical realism. It’s why I am such a huge advocate for play. Grown-ups need it as much as children. Maybe even more, given our present state. Aside from magic beans, it’s rare to have overnight success. Most of those people have been working for years, never giving up on their dream.
Who are you? How does someone who has accomplished their dream behave? I don’t mean what things they accumulate. What is their mindset and actions? What are your mindset and actions? What is one thing you can do to bridge the gap? For example, if your dream is to be an author, are you writing daily? Try playing dress up. Dress was your dream version of you 😊
“And we’ll all float on, okay” – Modest Mouse.
“I was just kind of fed up with how bad sh*t had been going, and how dark everything was, with bad news coming from everywhere.” – Isaac Brock in an interview with The A.V. Club. When you are trying to change, you will inevitably fall into the valley of despair. People trying to help you will share their opinions, which will make you doubt yourself. You may try “common sense” ideas when you need to trust your uncommon wisdom. The best things happen when you follow your curiosity. My kid wanted to get a more reliable car. They thought it would be a year down the road. I reminded them that our credit union had a car-buying service. They followed their curiosity and, within two months, had a better car and are currently saving money on repairs. If they had followed conventional wisdom, they would still be driving that old car and pouring money into a black hole of repairs.
“Free your mind, and the rest will follow” – En Vogue.
We were playing a card game, and my youngest targeted his brother with a skip card. “Why, bro?” My youngest replied, “Hurt people hurt people.” He had been skipped earlier. When we are trying to change, our brains want us to default to safety and resist the change. Those old mindsets rear their ugly heads, and we become afraid to change. You have to face those fears. I’m afraid of being successful because I will need to navigate taxes. Isn’t that silly? That’s what CPAs are for. Fear mainly comes from a lack of knowledge. That mindset shapes how you view acquiring new knowledge. I default to video games and try and view learning new things, like leveling up my character. A new job or lifestyle will not save you from your old ways. I would start a new role, master it, get bored, take on new things until I got overloaded and burned out. Rinse and Repeat. Now I schedule time on my calendar for deep thinking. I take bubble breaks. I walk. What is one step you can take toward your healing today?
To recap:
• You need a vision
• Change is painful
• Embrace your inner child
• “Let it flow, let yourself go. Slow and low, that is the tempo.” – Beastie Boys
• Nothing changes until you change.
Need a Little Extra Support?
Do you know that you need to change, but are unsure where to begin? Join my LinkedIn Live this Tuesday at 1:15 PM EST: https://www.linkedin.com/events/iwanttochange-butidon-tknowwher7417564872558903296/theater/
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:
Squat and Squint Meme: Kalin Elisa, a Black woman wearing a pink suit jacket has her hand on her knees and squints out from her glasses.
5 Oracle Cards: Situation: Shooting Star, Challenge, Transformation (a volcano and diamonds), Influences: Miracles (a Dandelion flower), Advice: Flow (a person in a boat on a river), Outcome: Chakra of Divine Knowledge (A person with clouds and a sun above their head)
