What’s Happening Right Now is Perfect
My sweet friend Kim DeMoss and I were chatting recently about all the great things going on with Project Mindful Movement when we discovered the next topic for my Podcast. As Kim felt pulled in different directions and not sure if it was all feeling how she wanted it to feel, I asked her “Where do you want your energy to go?”
It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? With so many things to give our time and energy to, how do we decide?
Sometimes you need to just sit with yourself and let your body feel what is happening. Is your energy being forced? With all our many directions, jobs, tasks, to-do lists, etc- it’s easy to be hell-bent on forcing things.
What if you let yourself accept that what is happening right now is perfect?
So Much To Do, So Little Time
If anyone has experienced “too much to do” it’s my friend Kim. You may remember her from Season One, Episode 66 of the Happy Hour Podcast when she talked with us about The Struggle of Balancing Business and Life. Kim is a military wife, mother of three, and an entrepreneur.
This busy mama just had a beautiful baby girl two months ago, and shared that she keeps trying to “get back to normal.” She’s realized that this IS her new normal, and that it is good and perfect- no matter what any original ‘expectations’ were.
“I have to focus on being present, or else I’ll resent that,” Kim shared.
I was so glad she brought up resentment because I believe that resentment is one of the worst things that you can carry through your daily life. When I’m working with clients, I often lead them to ask themselves, “What will cause you resentment in this situation?”
It can be an extremely insightful way for your body to tell you what is best for you to do. Not that we make all our decisions to avoid resentment, but it’s a helpful tool in discovering what your heart truly wants.
There Is No Timeline For Success
There seem to be two main strategies that people use to achieve success. One is to do what feels good to the body and mind right now and go with that flow. The other is to set a goal and push through all obstacles, not stopping until you get there. The second seems to be the mainstream way of achieving success. But is that the best way?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to people who “pushed through” and then get to the other side only to see that their health has suffered. Or they’ve missed out on moments with family. It sounds cliche, but they tell me they wish they would’ve stopped to smell the roses.
And even though they’ve reached that goal, they’ve come to resent it a little bit.
Kim says that she was inspired by the thought that instead of “hustling”, as is so popular in our culture, we should be “aligning” because things flow so much better then. Don’t you find that is true?
Sometimes You Need To Just Let It Go
(Cue the Frozen music! “Let it go! Let it go!” Oh, how I can’t wait to see Frozen 2!)
As Kim reflects on this past year, she feels that everything has been happening to teach her about letting go of control. The surprise blessing of her newborn girl has allowed her to be OK in the present moment.
Letting go is a continual process. Kim says, “I almost forgot that I rebranded the whole Project Mindful Movement program for a reason. I made it online and easier to access for a reason.” She had to relinquish control of that piece of her business to shift focus to her upcoming restorative yoga retreat. And when she did that, her energy started to flow.
For me, this idea of letting go really showed up in my candle business. I had been making candles as a creative outlet and hobby when my friend and I thought about turning it into a business as well. I knew I didn’t really have time for a new business but it felt so good to create and share the candles. So we decided to give it a try.
Here’s where the universe comes in — we can’t keep up with all the orders!
This was in NO WAY on my radar of things that could be a business opportunity for me or a financial blessing to my family. And now it is completely flipping my business model on its head!
I could have said, “No, I don’t have time for this. This isn’t on my vision board.” But instead, I let go and followed what felt right in my body and mind at that moment. When we listen to our body, mind, and spirit, it will tell us what to do. It will tell us what is OK.
Social Media: The Enemy of ‘Right Now Is Perfect’
Friends, I can’t warn you enough about the dangers of social media and the ways it robs us of the opportunity to be OK with what is happening right now. There is research that proves spending time on social media causes our bodies to release harmful chemicals and subconscious thoughts that are around jealousy, envy & loneliness.
I always warn people to look at social media through the biggest, thickest lens.
Kim feels that we would have improved connections if there was more authentic sharing on social media. “You see everybody’s highlight reels all the time and there are not enough people being real.” When she recently shared about a rough day, she received the most responses because it is real life and others see their own struggles in that.
I’m imposing a social media restriction on myself this holiday season so that I can be more present and treasure the moments we are creating. I find it is hard to treasure those moments when I’m not aligned with what’s happening right now.
My Best Advice For Being OK Right Now
It’s so important to take time to just sit with yourself and listen to your body. It will tell you what is good right now and what needs to happen at this moment. Remember that success has no timeline or expiration date! Allow yourself to align with what is happening and experience the flow of energy that is created by that.
Having a support system is crucial to your daily survival! Lean on your village or tribe for their support. If you don’t have a village or tribe, let us be your village or tribe because it is that important.
My final takeaways are:
- Find a way to feel good about what is happening right now
- Challenge yourself to be quiet and listen to your body to see what it has to say about what is happening right now
- Get the hell off social media (or remember to view it with a thick lens!)
Tune into the show and join our convo on Aligning with right now being perfect!
Perfect timing! Thanks, Shannon.
For me to sister!! xo