Don’t give up! Don’t stop believing! Keep going!
It’s hard not to listen when a message is as consistent as the one above. After all, nobody wants to be a quitter, right? You have to see things through. But what if you don’t? What if instead of being a one-way superhighway the road to success is actually a scenic route with plenty of interesting diversions and rest spots?
The truth is that the path to success is rarely straight and true. Accepting that simple truth might be the first step in treating yourself with a little more compassion the next time you get sidetracked.
We had a busy weekend here as I am sure many of you did. The demands of family life and the sheer number of directions we are always being pulled in would make getting sidetracked disastrous. Or so I thought.
What actually happened was that on the brink of losing my rag with my husband or children or Saturday traffic or the universe one word popped into my head.
YIELD.
It was a strain to keep all my balls in the air. Trying to force the world into the shape I needed it to be was too stressful. I could feel the tension creeping in and threatening to dominate. The rest of the family just wanted to muck about, play and get chips for tea.
YIELD.
No amount of ticks on the to-do list is worth having a crappy weekend.
The can’t-stop, won’t-stop mindset plays to the strengths of the indefatigable male archetype. The softness that you can bring to bear as a woman is what makes you strong.
Whether you are a stressed-out mum, a busy entrepreneur or simply a woman in the workplace it’s easy to see slowing down or even stopping as a failure. It’s not a failure. This ability to be passive, to be reflective, to yield, this is what makes us strong.
We ended up not getting half the things done we needed to do. But my children got to see the Christmas lights being switched on in town. I ended the day happier and healthier than I had felt for some time.
The universe isn’t out to get you. Why not go with the flow and see what occurs?
Dr Joanna Martin: Founder, oneofmany.co.uk.| Author| Women’s Speaker| Entrepreneur| Ex-doctor| Loud Sister| Baby Wrangler = No professional training but do a fine job nonetheless!
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