Do Less, So You Experience More
Last week, I was juggling work deadlines, training a new team member and packing up to head out of town for a work trip. On Wednesday evening, while driving to my community song circle (an hour away in Asheville), I found myself feeling more and more tired. More than halfway there, I paused at a stoplight and pulled over. As committed as I was to this program—and even though it was the last class—I realized what I most needed was to take a hot Epsom salt bath and go to bed early. So I turned around and went home.
Doing less in a culture that prizes busy-ness and productivity takes courage and a deep commitment to our own well-being.
Overdoing taxes our adrenals and keeps us from experiencing life in the present moment. The hyper-stimulation and constant busy-ness we’ve become accustomed to, comes at a cost to our well-being. When we do too much:
- we are more distracted. Even when we’re together, we aren’t present and focused on each other, and we don’t feel fed by our time together.
- we are overly focused on activities, goals and outcomes, which sends the powerful, subconscious message to those around us—and to ourselves—that we are only worthy if we’re “doing.”
- we’re in constant motion and rarely rest, we are perpetually overextended, and so we become resentful and even grumpy, at both ourselves and others.
- physically, we feel chronically tired and exhausted. Our poor bodies, overworked and overstimulated, rarely have time to truly rejuvenate (and this chronic stress can lead to depression, feeling unsettled and constant, low-grade anxiety).
- over time, the ongoing stress from our relentless pace affects our bodies’ immune, endocrine and hormone systems, which are frequently out of balance. Living in “fight or flight” around the clock has become the norm, and this stress is the root cause of 90% of all disease.
We’re living in the era of the unknown—a whole new frontier—that requires us to have more space to breathe, think, dream and digest. We’re craving more time to just be—so we can actually integrate all these new ways of seeing and being
This week I’m reminding myself that “Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should,” and asking, “Is this the best use of my energy and talents?” I’m slowing down and making the conscious choice to lower my expectations, give myself full permission to “do less,” and to pay less attention to my to-do list and more attention to what makes me come alive.
My colleague author/teacher Joan Borysenko says, “Remember—your to-do list is immortal. It will live on long after you’re dead.”
Warmly,
FOUR OPPORTUNITIES TO FIND YOUR CENTER:
- *THREE WEEKS AWAY!* March 20-22nd for Awakening Your Wild Soul: Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at 1440 Multiversity (photo above) in the CA redwoods ~ an embodied spirituality retreat filled with joyful song, pleasureful movement and deep nature immersions with 1,000 year-old trees; learn more/ register.
- Want support for facilitating women’s groups/retreats? Check out Secrets to Facilitating Life-Changing Women’s Groups/Retreats ~ an online, self-paced training & mentoring course. Only $195. Learn more/enroll here.
- *Available for a limited time* ~ Solace: A Deep Rest Virtual Retreat ~ Winter is here. You’re invited to slow down, go inward and relax in silence. Enjoy this 2.5 hour meditative virtual retreat 24/7 from the comfort of your home. Includes a long Yoga Nidra session. View this offering and all our online retreats here (starting at $49).
- Live in the Southeast or near North Carolina? Join me in the NC Blue Ridge Mountains for a Wild Souls Adventure: authentic movement classes, community song circles, full moon hikes, meditation/resiliency workshops, women’s circles & more or have me design a custom experience/ritual for your team/friends: learn more. Join us Sunday, March 8th for our next public Wild Souls Authentic Movement class in Brevard, NC; learn more here.
