Productivity Tuesday: Feel Free to Forgive Yourself

Sometimes, despite our best efforts to be productive and to complete projects on time, we get overwhelmed. Too many deadlines loom. Too many to-do items beckon. Too much has to be done right this instant.
I just had this happen yesterday. I returned from a weekend away to a mountain of projects that ballooned into emergencies through no fault of my own. I could not get them done no matter how hard I tried. There was only so much of the ten pounds of poop my five pound bag would hold.

I stressed out. Immediately, my stomach clenched, my jaw ached, and my head pounded. I started the hamster-in-the-wheel race to get everything done, but I eventually admitted defeat. I was not going to be able to complete everything on my plate for yesterday. And then, on top of that realization I also heaped on a huge helping of guilt for not being super woman and somehow eking out a miracle. Talk about a double-whammy!

After a couple of hours of this double-whammy of stress and guilt, I took a break. I sat down in my chair. A cat climbed into my lap, and together, we closed our eyes, breathed deeply, and relaxed. I didn't rest for long, but I needed a breather. I needed to center and relax if only for five minutes. And most of all, I needed to release myself from the prison of guilt for not being able to do the impossible. I put down that burden, opened my eyes, and then proceeded to kick butt on everything else I could do for the day.

I'll be honest, I would not have been able to proceed nearly as well or as productively if I hadn't taken those few minutes to unwind and release my guilt. The guilt would have continued to weigh me down. I would have labored under it for the rest of the day and not gotten nearly as much done.

It has taken me something like 40 years to learn that particular lesson. And it is this: Forgive yourself and recommit to the plan tomorrow.

 

How Do We Deal With Obstacles: Over? Around? Through?

We lost a big pine in the woods today. It fell right across one of the main paths the dog and I hike every day. And it got me to thinking about obstacles that fall in our path. How do we deal with them? Do we maneuver around them? Do we climb over them? Do we somehow try to push through them? How would I deal with the tree? What I try to find the path around it? Looking around, the area around where the tree fell was full of thorny bushes. So, that did not present a good way of maneuvering around this obstacle. I can't go through it because I don't have a hatchet. There is no way for me to push through the obstacle. At least not right now.

Certainly, time will take care of this particular obstacle. Within a few years, the tree will rot, and it will flatten to the ground so that it is hardly an obstacle at all anymore. That is not unlike issues that come up for me in my life. Many times I have wanted to do something about an issue. I have wanted to climb over it or push through it. But, I could not for whatever reason. And within a certain  amount of time, the issues became smaller and smaller until they were hardly nuisances. And eventually, I made peace with whatever it was that got me so riled up to begin with. And then, it was nothing more than a memory.

Now, I have an excellent memory so it's not like I'm ever going to forget whatever it was. But, that doesn't mean that it impacts my life to any great extent anymore. Just like this tree will eventually decay to the point where we won't even know it was ever there, so will whatever it is that has me so riled up today or tomorrow. Just like eventually the landscape where the tree fell will only register that perhaps the tree had once been there, my personal landscape will perhaps register that there was once an obstacle there but, it will no longer present any significant challenge. With time will come peace.

A friend just reminded me that sometimes, the obstacles end up being the very best thing that could have happened. Certainly, to keep going with the tree analogy, the tree will decay and provide nutrients and minerals for all the plants around it. It will be the compost in which many others thrive. The challenges we face can be the building blocks of a rich future harvest.

Today's Tarot: Seven of Cups (wishes, dreams, options)

Today's Tarot: Seven of Cups

(Dreams, options, wishes)

The seven of cups is one of my favorite cards with one caveat and it's that old chestnut, "be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it."

The card shows up when we have options (and sometimes don't even know what those are) and we will eventually need to make decisions, but for the moment, we are still in the dreaming and wishing phase rather than the choosing a path phase. The trouble here is that if we choose blindly, or if we don't have all the information, we end up going in the wrong direction or just running in circles.

While that can be fun, it's not terribly efficient if you're trying to get things done.

So, here's the mission. If you want to indulge in some wishful thinking, by all means, spend a little time in La La land. It is healthy and fun and will even bring you ideas from far flung corners. And those ideas might just change everything.

However, when it comes time to choose among your options and start making those decisions, make sure you have all the information before you embark on a path. If you know exactly what you want, you will walk with purpose and your heart will feel lighter (even if you are a little scared of going for whatever it is you're going for). Fear is fine. It's a sign of change. But when you choose toward your highest good, underneath the fear is excitement and dare I say it, joy. 

It's a knife edge but if we are going to live authentically, it's the only way.

I am reminded of the amazing Anais Nin quote: "And then the day came when the pain of staying tight in a bud became greater than the pain it took to blossom."

Choose among your options toward your highest good and you will blossom.