How to Get UNSTUCK
I have a confession to make. When I launched my website, I said I would be sending out bi-weekly newsletters. In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t. Ouch! Not exactly how I wanted to start.
When I realized that I was going to miss my very first goal, I immediately felt the flush of shame. My inner mean girls took over and they had a heyday!
“HaHaHa. We said all along that you couldn’t do this! “
“You BLEW IT, Tina. No one will ever listen or trust you now!”
“You’ve never been good with planning ahead, what made you think you could do this anyway?!”
“You SUCK!”
I know intellectually that I’m probably the only person watching the days tick by and that many others have tripped up in the beginning. But that knowledge didn’t help silence the negative voices screaming inside. I was embarrassed and ashamed that I hadn’t delivered my first official newsletter “on-time.”
I struggled with what to do, what to say, how to recover. So, I did nothing. And of course, that just made matters worse. It was a nasty, self-fulfilling prophecy. The more time passed, the more I beat myself up. The more I beat myself up, the more stuck I became.
This is not a new pattern for me. It’s something I’ve worked with my whole life. I become so afraid of what others will think or say or do, that I am frozen in my tracks, crippled by my conviction that I will be rejected if I don’t do what I think I’m “supposed” to do in exactly the right way.
So how did I overcome my fear? How did I move beyond that crippling shame?
Living in the Glow
Welcom
e to Living in the GLOW!! As I write this inaugural post I am filled with gratitude for whatever it is that brought you here. You are why I write.
Living in the Glow was born of a deep desire to support those who hear the whisper of their own dreams, who seek a deeper, more fulfilling experience of life. Those who sense that there is something more to learn, more to experience, more to be. Those who long to create a life that reflects their own heart’s desires. To be the human beings they came here to be. If this describes you – or if you are simply drawn to consider these ideas – then you’ve come to the right place!
Carlos Santana says there are two kinds of people in the world: artists and con-artists! Since I’m not a con-artist and doubt you are either, I guess that means we are ALL artists – of one sort or another. Maybe your medium is gardening, maybe it’s ideas. Maybe you are helping to create a generation of compassionate beings or helping others heal the wounds that often come with living. Whatever is on your palette, your life is your canvas. How cool is that?!!!
In painting there is a concept called the “glow”. The Glow is the place between layers on the canvas. When we leave part of a previous layer visible, that space– the Glow– adds depth and movement to the painting. While it may be only a small piece of the whole, it helps bring the painting alive.
In life as in painting, the Glow is that place between what was and what is coming to be. The place between past and future. The pause between heartbeats, breaths, steps. The brief hesitation before a tender kiss. The Glow is the present moment.
Activate Your Own Intentions
How many times have we all heard that our intentions matter? Too many to count, right? If you’re anything like me, there is often a big gulf between what I know intellectually and how I live my life. Bringing these two together is hard work. It requires me to discern, articulate, remember AND ACT on what I want. PHEW. The entire process can be overwhelming and I either give up or “forget” to take the action I know is necessary. Either way, chances are high that I will beat myself up – again – for not following through. UGH. Get me off this treadmill!
That’s why I love Patti Digh’s little book “Four Word Self Help, Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives” It’s an easy and quick read with wonderful artwork and fabulous action-oriented reminders like “Give Up Toxic People,” “Ask Why Not How,” and “Live in Present Tense.” Sweet, right?
Since being introduced to this practice by my first art teacher, Karen Brooks, I have often used it to help me remember how I want to live my life. Seriously. I have a large portion of wall space in my studio devoted to my personal four word self-help list. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways I’ve found to create new perspectives and build new habits. And, it’s FUN!
