Hey friends!
Excited to be here again and look forward to continue connecting with you all! Thank you to everyone who reached out and sent messages on my book release earlier this month. I’ve been trying to figure out ways to more directly help those of you who are looking for it and The 7 Day Gratitude Challenge is a direct practice of mine that has really paid dividends! I was thrilled to be able to share it and hope those of you that have it downloaded find it useful.
Lets get to it. Something’s been on my mind with everything going on and I want to try and break it down further.
What a wild time we are (still) in. I miss social interaction. I miss seeing my friends and family. I miss hugs and handshakes. It’s been more difficult to find answers and there isn’t a word I can find to describe it other than funk.
Even before a disease took over our nation and social distancing was a widespread term there were still times where we struggle to find the answers. We often feel something deeply routed within ourselves but can never quite seem to grasp it, find it, or make that decision. During some of my writings I find myself more unsure of how something sounds or if the idea I want to elaborate on is getting across. What is there to do?
I reach out to others for guidance.
“How do you think this sounds?”
The thing is - in most cases I know exactly what I want to say. There might be a sentence or an idea I’m trying to express but can’t find the right way to say it. I’ll reach out for some assurance and see if my idea or the word I’m trying to find will fit. When this happens I often hear a good suggestion and will reframe it into the idea I’m trying to express.
Yes, I will often reframe it into the idea I’m trying to express.
How many times have you thought about making a statement, a big decision, or you need to express your feelings in what you believe is going to be a tough conversation? We all have. Within that uncertainty, how many times have you reached out to someone else for that little push? Maybe it’s “I have this feeling that things could go wrong, what do you think I should do?” You gather information, assurance, and get the motivation from others and often end up doing what? You make that decision, have that conversation, and express your feelings. In other words - you do what your intuition was telling you all along. You just felt compelled to ask another if you were thinking straight.
What I am not saying is we don’t need help. We all need it especially during trying times like we are in now. We all need suggestions, to reach out for help, and to receive guidance. None of us would be where we are at today without the helping hand of others.
What I am saying is we all have the abilities we need to make our decisions and do what is right. We can feel exactly what we need inside of us. This is so crucial with how isolated many of us are right now. It’s extremely important to keep our own mind, body, and spirit sharp. The struggle is trusting our intuition completely. We often don’t and therefore reach out to others to answer with us, or in most cases, answer for us.
This scares me and is often something that I have fallen for as well. There seems to be this need to receive approval from others. We look outside for validation. We go to the people closest to us to see what they think and here’s the kicker - it’s usually because they are going to tell us exactly what we want to hear.
It is important that we get to know and believe in ourselves on a deep level. We are all uniquely different - how cool is that? We are the only one of us. That means that we all have unique characteristics, beliefs, interests, and skills to bring to the table. We were created to be ourselves - not to be a version that someone else thinks we should be. Who is the person we spend the most time with?
I took an in-depth look at the crucial need to take care of ourselves in Why It’s Important To Fill Your Cup First.
It’s not always easy. Shoot, I used to really struggle with this concept. Uncertainty still creeps in from time to time. It does for all of us. What we can do is acknowledge that uncertainty, get back to a present state, and move forward. Uncertainty isn’t an event, a place, or a thing. It’s nothing. It’s fairy dust. The only way to remove uncertainty is to take action.
Are there times where you have felt uncertain, stressed out about a decision, or didn’t have the confidence in yourself to make a change? What did you end up doing? Did you go through with it? Did you feel even more uncertain after a friend said that maybe it wasn’t your best idea? Here’s an easier way to find your answer - did you follow your gut?
Whenever I hear the phrase “follow” or “trust” your gut I am reminded of a quote in Eckhart Tolle’s book The Power Of Now. He briefly sums up the battle between your mind (uncertainty) and your intuition (gut).
“If you really want to know, the body will always give you a true reflection. Feel it. If there is a clear conflict (between them) the thought will be the lie, the emotion will be the truth.”
Simply put - trust your gut.
Substitute this for any event, decision, relationship, or conversation to be had and whatever you feel inside is what you know you should do, or decide, or say. The mind can be a busy place and we can get too caught up in it, myself included. I urge us to slow down, breathe, clear the noise, and believe in ourselves.
To bring this full circle - you are in control. We can receive help, guidance, and reassurance from others but in the end it is always up to us to implement. We decide. We take action. We take care of ourselves. It’s as important as it’s ever been. The world is noisy right now. Never before have we been in such an unsettling time. There are many of us who are on edge and stressed out thinking about all the uncertainty ahead. It’s been trying on all of us and I feel for you.
With that being said there is nothing we can do but to stay as healthy as we possibly can. It is more important than ever to take care of ourselves right now and I mean that in every aspect - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Slow down. Breathe. Take a break from the news and constant media channels. Get outside. Practice gratitude. Give your friends a call. Read a book. Take a course. Watch your favorite movie. Don’t empty the ice cream bucket in one sitting. Or do exactly that.
If this registered with you I’d love to connect! Shoot me your thoughts, questions, or oppositions anytime at theitsjustjakeblog@gmail.com or through any of the social media links below.
As for the question asked earlier? It’s us.
The person we spend the most time with will always be ourselves. Make it count.