Your goose is cooked. Feels like the earth is shifting beneath your feet and you are just sinking. You struggle and it makes it worse. Is everything crumbling around you? I think about ants. Humans constantly poke at anthills causing devastation and ruin. The ants immediately begin to rebuild. It's not as easy when your ideals or hard work appear to be crumbling around you. It's like building a piece of furniture only to realize at the last step that you put something in backwards and you have to restart. Friday, I had a huge project to accomplish which means that my computer urgently needed to conduct a refresh. Several hours later, I was not able to work on the project. Disaster? Crisis? Actually in this case, it was a potential crisis averted because I was supposed to do a review before starting my project. Sometimes being in quicksand can save you because you will need to change.
But - I'm literally drowning, Stacy. If I don't try and save myself, I'll go under. If you are stuck in quicksand, you should actually stop moving and if possible take a few steps backward. Lighten your load as much as possible. I know I am guilty of depriving others of the lessons learned for doing their own work. My to-do list should be rehabbed into a to-don't list. If you surrender, you will be stuck for a bit, but you will not continue to sink. Take the time to assess your situation and look if there are any resources to help you get out.
When you feel like you are dying, what is important becomes crystal clear. That to-do list goes out the window if your basement is flooding or someone becomes ill. When you toss off your pre-conceived notions, you have the potential to gain new insight. When I accepted that I was not going to be able to use my computer, I was able to use other tools to check in with my team and take the time to begin other projects. Had I gone with business as usual, I would be spending even more time correcting a huge mistake because I was heading in the wrong direction.
What's next? When you stop struggling you are forced to accept the now. Eckhart Tolle's definition of stress is being here when you want to be there. Here may be uncomfortable, but that is where the magic happens. How did you get here? What have you learned along the way? In order to get out of the quicksand, you need to move differently. If you need help, feel free to reach out and I'll throw you a vine. Namaste
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My next Start-Up Your Life Playshop is April 10th. We use play to problem solve and help you make your 'someday' list, today.
