The Pull of Our Environment
Last week I shared that I’ve been going 90-to-nothing for a while now, and that my inner wisdom was telling me “it’s time to slow down.” My belief is that slowing down is a vital component to being effective and productive in life. It can feel counterintuitive, but what I find is that when I slow down and make space, the moves I make render greater rewards because they are heart-aligned actions.
With that in mind, this week I want to introduce the idea of how the pull of our environment affects us.
It’s a concept I’ve been working through for a while now, and I’ve been experiencing some beautiful results I’d like to share with you.
We are always in a dance with our environment. We are constantly interacting and moving in relationship to the environment we are in. How we show up, the behaviors we take on and the way we engage with people is influenced by the environment in which we find ourselves.
Our environment has a profound impact on our ability to be effective. If we don’t consider the pull of our environment it will impact us in ways we are unconscious of...and usually not for the better.
Here are a few examples of what I noticed when I started examining what my environment encourages or discourages:
I love ice cream. If I buy a pint of ice cream I might just eat it every night until it’s gone. If it’s in the freezer it’s like I can hear it calling me. This only becomes a problem when eating ice cream several times a week keeps me from having the results I want. At that point I simply have to stop buying ice cream and remove it from my environment.
On Fridays my partner may work from home and what I notice is that I always want to take a nap on the afternoons when he is here. I love a good midday nap, so it’s not a problem that my environment is encouraging it. However, I know that if I need to be productive on a Friday afternoon I should remove myself from that environment so I don’t get pulled away from work by the temptation of a nap.
By keeping my phone by my bed at night, I was more likely to hit snooze on my alarm in the morning which would cut into my day. As much as I love to sleep in, I also want to get my day started early to make space for my morning routine of quiet time, writing and meditation. I started putting my phone outside of my room so that I physically have to get out of bed to turn off my alarm. This simple change to my environment helps me have the mornings I want to have.
This is an invitation to explore where your environment is pulling at you. What is it encouraging and what is it discouraging? Once you notice these things you can start making adjustments so that your environment is always encouraging the kind of effectiveness and productivity that matches the results your heart desires.
As always, I’d love to hear from you. What did you notice? What changes are you making? What’s working and what’s not working for you?
Have a great week!
KNOW SOMEONE WHO COULD USE THIS TODAY? SEND THIS TO THEIR INBOX
Permission to Pause
If you were sitting here on the sofa with me, having a heart to heart, I would honestly tell you…that I’m tired.
Thinking about what the first few months of 2019 have been like for me, I’ve just been doing so much: I created and developed a year-long business intensive program, launched my online course, wrapped up a 5-month coaching program, had 2 retreats (whew!) ... add in some travel and, wow, that’s a lot!
While all the things I’ve been doing are things I love and I’m proud of, I can also appreciate that I’m not meant to keep that pace ongoingly.
All the messages and signs are telling me to slow down. Time to make space. Lift my head up. Step back. Literally pause. Get quiet. Sink back into the stillness.
Slowing down can feel counterproductive, but it’s actually a component of productivity.
When my inner wisdom tells me to slow down, the noise in my head gets really LOUD.
Your mind will try to convince you that if you slow down:
Things will get further behind
It will all fall apart
Projects will lose momentum
Business will dry up
It will cost you and you can’t afford the cost
In Whole<3’d we talk about quieting this noise in order to hear the heart. The mind makes noise because it wants to keep me safe and protect me by maintaining predictable patterns such as stay busy, stay moving. If I were to buy into that and just keep plowing forward I would probably end up physically sick or just completely burned out.
I’m so grateful that I have the skill to recognize this as just noise. I can tune it out and really listen to the wisdom that’s underneath and trust it. The voice telling me to slow down is calling to me for a reason.
It doesn’t mean I’m going to lose everything I’m working for. I slow down, rest, take time, play a bit more, open up to creativity and then….the energy shifts and things start coming to me. The people are there, the business is there, ideas are flowing.
Really, slowing down is one of the most productive things I can do.
It’s a concept I call heart-aligned productivity and something I want to talk about this month. It’s not just doing more for the sake of doing more. Instead, it means doing what aligns with our heart AND trusting that will actually help us produce whatever we are meant to bring into the world.
This is your permission to pause.
I invite you to set aside the noise that would caution you otherwise.
Listen to the wisdom within you.
Give yourself what you most need: space, rest, play.
Trust that everything you are building, and everything that is meant to be yours is not lost but in fact will move closer to you in the process.
See you next week, when we’ll talk about a whole new distinction of heart-aligned productivity.
Enjoy your rest.
<3
KNOW SOMEONE WHO COULD USE THIS TODAY? SEND THIS TO THEIR INBOX