Today’s video is about those time when we just feel lost, like we’re dragging ourselves through a dark forest. Maybe our toast to jelly ratio is off. How can we get back to YES! and the path of motivation?
You can watch the video here, or read the transcript below:
Hello there, Natural Professionals. It’s Shawn Tuttle, today in Los Altos, California.
Today’s subject is on recognizing patterns while you’re on your path. Because what so often happens is we have this idea, say for a business, a new project, a new offering or something, and we are so excited–we’re just completely lit up. That’s how we know we’re on the right track. It’s our soul speaking to us, saying “Yes! I want that!” And you know there’s nothing at all that can get in your way…
Until tomorrow. Life happens and stuff comes up. And you know the longer a project takes, the more motivation and the more inspiration you need. Then every once in awhile you have these days when you’re just doubting, and you’re thinking “What in the world was I thinking when I said I was going to ______ ” or “I can’t do that!” or “It’s too hard!”
Some of this stuff is just hard. Either the work itself, or having to stretch ourselves skill-wise or comfort-wise. Maybe it’s pushing for some personal growth. Whatever it is, it’s hard.
3 Kinds of Patterns
So there are three kinds of patterns that I’m going to suggest that you watch for that can sometimes help move through some of these darker times on your way to that eternal “Yes!”
I’ve been spending a bunch of time with my niece and nephew lately, so they are going to help out. Not in person; they’re out of town right now. But they’re going to help out with some examples for these patterns.
#1: What motivates you?
The first one is being aware of what motivates you. For my niece, baking cookies and playing hide-and-seek is always sure to get her up and running, excited and motivated to go.
For me, a little more sedate—I like reading. That’s what helps me get motivated again if I’ve lost some of the enthusiasm for what I’m doing. This isn’t necessarily for the really dark times, but it’s for the times where it’s like, “Whoa, where was I? What am I doing?” You know, when you’ve kind of lost focus.
I like Fast Company magazine; I find that those articles are just so interesting—especially those on creativity and sustainability—that’s my kind of business there! I also like reading inspirational texts, because those are the things that help me come back to my heart, and that is where my purpose and my mission and my passion are absolutely rooted. So if I’m feeling a little lost, coming back here is a surefire way to get the motor running again.
#2: Where are you spreading your energy too thin?
Be aware of your tendency of where you spread your energy too thin.
Okay, so you’ve got this big piece of toast, and you glop on this big thing of jelly, right? We’re back in niece and nephew land. Plop on this jelly, but it’s a big piece of toast, and so you start spreading it and spreading it and spreading it, and so by the time you cover the whole piece of toast, the jam is just so thin. So are you still going to get the same satisfying, jammy toast experience? Probably not. Smaller piece of toast, same amount of jam, and mmm, tastes so much better.
Of course, the jam is your energy. You only have so much, right? You have one glop per day. So the more you spread it, the more commitments that you say “yes” to, the more things that you have going on means the more energy out.
#3: What’s your “perfect storm” pattern?
This has to do with the doozy patterns. These are the ones that can kick your butt. Right now, my nephew is teething, and so he’s just in discomfort and in pain, and he expresses that, and he’s cranky and he’s irritable, and everybody else pays for it as well. But then, the tooth busts through.
There’s a breakthrough, and then “Aah,” there’s a new tooth. From that point forward, he’s forgotten what it was like to not have that tooth–the “before” state.
How this manifests for me, and very possibly for you as well—and these are the ones to watch out for. I’ll be cruising along, doing great, working on my projects, and then I’ll get to this period where it’s just dark and I feel emotional, and I’ll just start crying for seemingly no reason. My focus will just get shorter and shorter, I’ll lose touch with the big picture. This is when my fantasies of getting a job—yeah, right—come in, and nothing makes sense, nothing is good, and it’s just hard, and I feel stuck, and it’s terrible.
And then usually this involves a conversation—or what ends up happening in getting out of it is I’ll have a conversation, and it’s often with my sister, who’s been so incredibly supportive. She knows that I’m not just going to stop, and so even though I’m like “I’m going to go get a job,” she’s like “Yeah right, see you tomorrow. We can check in on that one again.” But in talking with her, what will come up is awareness of an issue that I’ve been having, a big problem of some sort that is trying to get worked out.
And without fail, within a couple of days, boom! Breakthrough happens. New state. I’ve completely forgotten what the last one was, and I’m flying again, and I’m so excited. It’s like, “Ah!” Forgot what it was like to be in that dark space.
It usually involves some form of growth. Like this happened before I brought Kathy Frey, my new teammate, on board; it happened—what are some of the other big ones? Basically before these huge decisions that represented growth in my own business. I went through that “Ugh!”—miserable for me and everybody around me, and then boom! Breakthrough, and (sigh) smooth sailing until the next time.
Create Awareness: share your patterns with us
Patterns. Which ones get you? Which ones could you be more aware of that will help you in getting through some of the tougher times of being the fabulous, independent, creative, awesome human being that you are? Throw them in the comments section if you’d like to, or just think about it and keep that in mind for future use.
That’s it for today, and until the next time, stay natural.