Hey Friend,
About six weeks ago I was feeling a little exhausted and heading down the burnout path so I decided to slow things down a touch. I stopped posting every day on social media (and let go of the feeling of obligation that I'd attached to it) and I used that time to reflect and be still.
In reflecting over the past year, I think I'd lost sight of the importance of slowing down because of my old-school approach to dealing with the challenges that life was throwing me. i.e. to put a lid on them and run as fast as I can in the hope they wouldn't catch up.
But they do, they always do. They wait for longer than I can run...they can wait forever in fact...
So, here I stand, determined to take the lessons, sit with the emotions and let go of the neat composure, so that I can give closure to my experience.
Just for context, one year ago I was in a very different place. I'm based in Melbourne so we were just going into yet another 5 day/4 month lockdown which meant homeschooling 3 kids (again) while running (not always well) my business and, probably most significantly, separating from my husband and partner in life of nearly 18 years - it was a royal shit show.
And now, as I give that experience closure, I'm letting myself feel a little sad and I'm letting myself be still and that feels right and it feels respectful...actually it feels quite liberating.
Every morning, after I exercise, I start with a 12 minute mindfulness practice followed by a journal writing exercise, and I can honestly say, for the first time in a long time, I feel calm and focused and confident that I'm making the right kind of progress in the right kind of way.
While I love speed, challenge, action and results, I also love connection, collaboration, fun and spontaneity, and my lesson so far is that I can have a blend of both, provided I create the space for it.
It is through shifting gears that I have found a way to be more effective with my time, my energy and my focus. If this resonates with you and you'd like to have a chat about creating the space to improve how you lead then schedule a time to chat
https://calendly.com/shelley_flett/leadership-development-discussion
Until then, stay awesome!
Shelley 😁
