Give yourself a break.

You need to do more (just kidding)

Do you ever feel you are not doing enough? Or doing it well enough? Or progressing fast enough? A lot of us do. Have you ever noticed that whatever activity you enjoy, however casually, there always seems to be some new level to reach or a new technique to perfect? And you didn’t even know there were levels. You certainly don’t want a sharp learning curve because you have enough of that in the rest of your life. And you don’t want the pressure of competing, even if it is just with yourself.

Me: I like to do yoga.

Someone: Do you do Vinyasa, Hatha, Ashtanga, Bikram?

Me: Uh, I just choose stuff on You Tube.

Why is it so complicated?

There’s two reason for this. One micro and one macro. On a one on one level, people love to compare and compete. They want to feel better. Or at least, not look too bad. I had a co-worker who did meditation retreats and would tell us it was the most difficult style of meditation. Which is laughable when you think that one of the goals of meditation is equanimity, meaning you see everything as a whole and not divided into, in this case, better or worse and certainly not as competitive.

Me: I’ve been a runner for a long time. Running has definite benefits.

Someone: Do you do marathons? Intervals? Have you tried Tabata?

Me: Uh, no, are those shoes?

The macro reason is creating a need to sell us something. Creating unease then providing the solution. Basically, making you feel you are not quite meeting the mark if you are not learning the latest style or using the latest equipment. We are urged to “take it to the next level”, “be the best we can be”, “learn how to do it right”. We’re made to feel like underachievers (i.e. losers) of we are not constantly striving. “Please buy our perfect widget that you so rightly deserve since you are so marvelous at widgeting. If don’t you are a widgeting amateur and an embarrassment.”

Someone: This device on my wrist tells me how many steps I take in a day, my pulse, blood pressure, when I’m ovulating, the weather, my exercise program for the day and maps my location.

Me: What time is it?

Someone: Uh…hang on…maybe this button…give me a sec….

Me: See ya.

Take a break

Let’s all give ourselves a break. Really. Because it’s impossible to move forward when dragging weight, metaphorical weight, like inadequacy, guilt, and failure. You are not underachieving. You’re doing it your way, at your pace, and in relation to everything else going on in your life.

Remember being a kid? It was just fun to just do stuff. You got into the flow and forgot yourself. No one was self conscious. No one worried about their shortcomings, no one tried to be everything. Maybe that’s still how it should be. Because if we were as hard on a friend or our partner as we are on ourselves we’d never speak to us (you know what I mean).

Me: I’m trying to eat better, maybe lose a few pounds.

Someone: Are you checking your macros? Do you do Keto? Are you vegetarian? Vegan? Raw vegan? Are you practicing intermittent fasting? Total fasting? Dry fasting? Hard dry fasting?

Me: Please go away.

In relation to manifesting

On a manifestation note, you manifest what is specific, what you clearly see in your mind. If it’s an image of failure, that’s what will keep coming up. Even if your manifesting techniques are great, if you’re berating yourself the rest of the time, it’s no use. You can read about manifesting in my first blog on that topic, and my first steps to manifesting in my second installment on manifestation.

Mercury turns direct

On an astrological note, Mercury stationed direct on the 28th of March. It’s retrograde is completely over April 18th when it emerges from its shadow. This is a time to avoid starting new things and finishing up the old. Why not take the next month to look back on how far we’ve come, what we’ve accomplished, and congratulate ourselves. Give yourself a break, you’re doing great.

Photo by Kendal James on Unsplash