Hi 👋🏽, I’m Stacy Casson. I have over twenty years of continuous improvement experience. I’m calm in a crisis unless you are that jerk in the white Tesla who does not 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. “A problem well defined is a problem half-solved.” – Dan Martell.
It is good to remind yourself of your wins. This week, I kicked off my Calm Down Session offer. It’s very relaxing. You should give it a go. I walked six out of seven days and decluttered a corner of my room. Yours truly was one of the feature artists for the Art Serve Florida Opulence exhibit. Recounting your wins reminds you of your capabilities. Feeling empowered is necessary to overcome overwhelm. What were your wins of the week?
This week, I am going back to my roots and seeking inspiration and guidance from my beloved Pokémon cards courtesy of Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/ Game Freak. I am exploring how to do what you want to do when you don’t want to do it.
What is my struggle? Everyday I pull a tarot card for inspiration. Yesterday was The Tower. Most people think it’s a terrifying card because it depicts destruction and people falling out of a tower. For me it is a reminder that I need to shake things up. When you try to change it seems inertia responds with an equal and opposite force. I fought very hard to declutter a six foot by one foot space. Who knew that picking up pens would be so difficult? The Pokémon card for this question is The Tower of Darkness. It took me longer than I want to admit to make the association between this tower and the Tower. It is a training tower for a player to evolve their Kubfu Pokémon. Our struggle often isn’t physical obstacles, but our mental blocks. The player has to defeat all the trainers in the tower and then the Kubfu has to examine the Scroll of Darkness. We don’t want to do that self-examination, so we avoid the tower. I was listening to an excerpt of Mel Robbins speaking with Hasan Minhaj about his mom’s hoarding. The things we hold are more about the memory and meaning than the physical object. If you are struggling to get started on a project, maybe you need to enter the tower and face your fears.
What is the challenge? We got the Fighting energy card. According to the Bulbapedia site, a Kubfu “has a unique organ that allows it to create ‘fighting energy’ in its lower abdomen through special breathing techniques and intense focusing. I rarely give myself time to breathe but am doing a better job of daily decompression time. Today is a great example of wanting to write this blog but being unable to do so until I regulated my feelings. I distracted myself with a million other things and when I recognized what I was doing, I was able to sit down and write. I found it interesting that fighting energy requires breathing and focus. Taking action requires energy and if you are depleted, it makes sense that you struggle to be motivated. When is the last time you rested in any of its forms? This week I turned off my phone or left it behind and I can’t believe how it helped with focus.
What can help? The Fairy energy card is very apt because it is about healing and joyful things. I want to see the latest Art Serve gallery opening and there was a breathtaking exhibit by the artist LuRu. You enter a room and there are several pieces arranged by seasons and light by dynamic lighting. As the light cycles through, different aspects of the painting come into focus. They hid an enormous crocodile in one of them. If you want to experience the fullness of the paintings, you have to slow down and patiently allow each colored light to cycle through. It reminded me of the false sense of urgency we are bombarded with by the news or our jobs on a daily basis. For me, a healing mantra is “I have all the time in the world to accomplish what is important to me.” Then I take a deep breath and am able to more calmly assess the situation to determine…
What is a way forward? Pansear, a monkey like Pokémon is shooting a flame from its hand. The Pokémon move is called Fury Swipes. I like to think of it as channeling our rage, or fury, or sadness into something productive. When I write my blog, it helps me to process what I am feeling and prepare for the week ahead. Since it’s a type of conversation with you all, it feels very collaborative. Taking action, even if it is not the thing you actually want to do, reminds you that you can do things. I am celebrating all the things I was able to accomplish this morning before eventually writing my blog. I did it! It was not a matter of life and death, and it did not have to be ready the moment I leapt out of bed. Like the old saying, measure twice, cut once. Sometimes, your next step is a deep breath and calming your mind. Drink a glass of water. Recharge your fuel in order to light a spark. Namaste
Are you ready to work with me on addressing you overwhelm? Please let me know what's happening, and we can schedule a brief call to discuss it further. Book Now https://calendly.com/thingstothinkabout/calm-down
Picture Descriptions: 4 Cards. 1. Tower of Darkness: A five-story wooden tower with banners hanging from the side. There is a large Urshifu which resembles a bear at the top. It’s in a rocky environment with a cloudy orange sky. 2. Fight Energy: A burnt orange card with a glowing orange sphere containing a stylized black fist. 3. Fairy Energy: A pink card with a glowing pink sphere containing a stylized tulip. The petals make what seems like hands cupping a diamond shaped star. 4. Pansear: a red-and-cream monkey like creature shooting a burst of flame from its palm. It appears to be in a laboratory of sorts.
