But what if I get TOO inspired?

But what if I get TOO inspired?

But what if I get TOO inspired?

Sometimes I put off reading (or watching, or attending, or doing) something…and when I evaluate it, my avoidance is because I’m actually worried about how inspired I will be.

Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous. Don’t I WANT to be inspired? Isn’t inspiration a great thing?

It is a great thing….but it can also feel like a dangerous thing. There’s inspiration everywhere – in films, within books, on social posts, at events, with new products and tech and tools and software.

I’ve got hundreds of things on my to do list. My to do list is so long it’s become a dream list, and I created a new list with a maximum of five things on it, called “THIS WEEK (sort of important)”.

So when I look at the books I want to read, and the inspiring Brene Brown Netflix special I want to watch, and the apps I want to try, and the programmes I want to go through….it feels overwhelming.

What if I’m TOO inspired??

What if I read the book (or watch the special or download the app), and in addition to everything else I suddenly have forty five new things I want to do?

I have a book by Ann Handley called “Everybody Writes”. (The front of that book was my inspiration for today’s sketchnote image.) I’ve taken that book with me (along with good intentions) to more cities and even countries than I’d like to admit.

I keep bringing it with me, and opening it up, but I haven’t finished it.

It’s not because I don’t want to. Ann’s talk at a marketing conference was amazing – I loved it and was encouraged by it and learned new things from it. I bought the book, she signed it, I planned to read it….and I haven’t yet.

Many of my clients have told me the same thing. They want to try GoProposal, but it’s going to lead to so many new things to do in the firm! We send them a copy of They Ask You Answer, and they put it on the shelf because of all the content writing ideas it will give them.

The fact is, I don’t blame them. The ‘too inspired’ concern is justifiable. There’s only so much time available, and only so many priorities.

All the socials are full of people telling us to SEIZE THE DAY and READ THE BOOK and LIVE LIKE IT’S YOUR LAST DAY (or the first of the rest of your life) and all that carry on.

But we can’t.

We have to do the best we can with what we have – and the truth is, if that means setting the book aside today, that’s okay. If that means waiting to watch the special until I’m ready, or choosing to finish one of my many half-finished projects, that’s okay.

However, here’s something that’s also true:

Inspiration doesn’t come instantly and change things instantly.

It feels like it comes instantly, but it doesn’t really. True inspiration – the life changing, the business changing, the heart changing kind – comes in bit by bit. In pieces. Little by little.

It stacks up, piece upon piece. A chapter of a book, a film, a quote, someone’s text or speech or email, an event.

Each small portion combines together until one day you suddenly DO something or finish something…and you think “gosh I was so inspired! That one email and I finally got this thing done!”

But the inspiration started long ago, and stacked up.

So, you can set the book aside today, if you want to.

And you can also pick it up, and not have to fear inspiration.

It takes its time, so you can too.

 

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ON THE GRAM

Popped into a fave local coffee shop in York this week and this was the mug they gave me. ❤️✨

Wasn’t feeling so superwomanny when I got it - this week was very full, plus period cramps and multiple migraines and my ankle being wonky and more travel than I’ve done in a while. I had intended to get coffee but the cramps were so bad I had to go for mint tea and just sit until they faded enough for me to walk again. 

At the same time, I also had an amazing time during this week with the @weare_pf Board meeting in person for the first time. Getting to know each other better as humans and sharing ideas and making plans and most of all appreciating that the weight of all the business decisions doesn’t rest solely on my shoulders. 

This is just one of your reminders that being a superwoman looks different at different times, and whether you’re striding along strongly or sitting weakly with mint tea, your superwoman status still applies. 

#justkeepgoing #superwoman #muglife #wegotthis #onedayatatime
Every single time I go sailing past this lighthouse on the mull-to-Oban ferry I think “this time I’ll just watch it and not take any pictures” 

And then something wild happens like A SAILBOAT GOES BY and of course I have to capture that, surely I haven’t taken that photo before (spoiler: I have), and then I have about seventeen lighthouse photos to add to my collection of seven thousand lighthouse photos from the last twenty years. 

But, I figure, what’s the harm anyway. It’s my photos and my memories and it brings me joy. I love the lighthouse as a visual of my journey from the mainland to the island (or a reminder I’ll be back soon). 

So, see you soon lighthouse. Thanks for standing there. 

#lismorelighthouse #eileanmusdile #lighthouse #lighthousesofinstagram #oban #ferry #calmac #isleofmull #sailaway #sailboat #scotland #travelscotland
I read. A lot. My list of “books to read” has over 100 titles listed, and every time I mention a book I’ve appreciated, I get another recommendation of a new one and the list gets longer. 

One of the books recommended to me years ago was “The Buddha in Me the Buddha in You”. She mentioned it had some helpful principles about how we navigate life - and whether you’re a buddhist or not, there are principles you can learn from and apply in life.

I wrote it down, forgot about it, and moved on with life. Read lots of other books.

And then when I broke my ankle, and was sitting and resting a LOT, with loads of time for reading, I went back to my list and started reconsidering some of the titles on it.

When I looked up “The Buddha in Me the Buddha in You”, the subtitle was “A Handbook for Happiness”, and that struck me.

Dealing with an injury is difficult. Sad. Wearying. It can be hard to find happiness and every day feels about the same. (Very Groundhog Day.)

So I bought the book, and put it by my bed. I started getting into a pattern of reading a chapter every morning with my coffee.

I thought I’d share some of the principles I appreciated and which are already helping me as I continue to navigate my life right now: 

[the full post on these is too long for an Insta post so click the link in bio or story if u want to read more!]

Thank the spoon - a spoon stirs up the mud in what had appeared to be clear water. Same with life: hard things stir up what you haven’t dealt with yet. So you thank them. “Thank you, spoon”

The Fundamental darkness (FD) - the “Survival Obsessed Self” who responds in a way based on survival but not growth

There’s a gift in the struggle - He describes it visually as “the lotus flower in the muddy pond”. You can focus on the mud, or on the flower, but they’re both there.

Nam - myo - ho - renge - kyo : The happiness soundtrack - I pulled out the core concepts of each of these words as they applied to me, and they are: 

Purpose
Mystery
Potential 
Bloom in the struggle
Flow of life

#karensnotes #buddhainmebuddhainyou #books #reading #happysaturday 

[full note link in bio!]
The snow is swirling the wind is howling IT’S FROZEN OUT THERE 
#snowing #happyspringeveryone #inlikealion