“If you don’t save a bit of your time for you, now, out of every week…there is no moment in the future when you’ll magically be done with everything and have loads of free time.”
— Jessica Abel, author of the audio storytelling classic Out on a Wire, quoted in Oliver Burkeman’s book Four Thousand Weeks.
This is so powerful, Anastasia. And wow, what a great poem. You're on track to "simplify" 2024. Thanks for sharing everything, this resonates so much. Sending lots of love!
You are so welcome Lia -- thank you so much for reading. It's funny... it's such a tiny little shift, and it feels like it changed everything. Our minds and hearts are so mighty! :)
Amen, sister! So well said! Reminds me of the song “The Climb” - “ain’t about how fast I get there, ain’t about what’s waitin’ on the other side; it’s the climb, it’s the climb”. Be here now. And what a great poem, I’m going to have to copy that one down! Thanks for sharing that, and your own personal experience, it really resonates. I’ve taken a different journey (as do we all) but ended up in the same space…
You are so welcome Marlene -- it IS the climb! Life is so much more enjoyable if I actually take the time to appreciate this step right now. And you said it perfect: we all end up in the same place, right? Coming back to ourselves -- and each other. Thank you for reading and commenting, it means a lot!
You are so welcome Maria! And I'm sending you so many wishes for a peaceful and calm job interview. If it feels fun... speak out loud the answer to this question: "Maria... tell me about the time when your job interview went SO WELL! What happened? How did you feel?" Have fun with it -- you're amazing!
I had so many thoughts surface while reading this. One in particular was our relationship to the concept of guilt. I feel that guilt is at least one of the layers to this idea of always needing to do more, be more, accomplish x-y-z…what is enough? I remember many years ago having a conversation with my sister (who is a cardiologist) why she felt guilty about not having a big family like mine and I, in turn, felt guilty about not having a successful, “career,” and was a full time mom! We were both on a nonstop treadmill of needing to do more, and yet, we were already there. Appreciating where we were would have saved us both a lot of anxiety!
I always wondered how you had the energy to do everything you do! 😜
I'm so glad to read about your recent journey deeper into the idea that "the feeling is always available to us" and that "the carrot will always be just out of reach." It is funny, isn't it, how we hear these things over and over again and yet it can take years for something to click and for us to really grasp and embrace it. Definitely need this reminder for myself.
Also really thankful to read this as I'm about to start my own business and can pretty much 100% relate to the "being the best" for approval as a kid that followed me into adulthood. In my case, though, the stress of being perfect has been so much it led to paralysis. I've started a lot of things in my head, but have been too scared to push them into fruition very far.
And the business course I'm taking right now, they recently asked "who are at least 3 people in your business model who are crushing it?" After a week of racking my brain, I could only think of 2 and one was you. But I'll be honest, I was concerned if I would be able to do as much as you do! Haha, so it's really great to read about your experience and learn from it before I burn myself out unnecessarily. 😅
The sunrise before the mountaintop is so true + beautiful and a metaphor I will take with me. 💜
(Sorry for the rambly, disjointed comment, haha, but I guess I had a lot of rambly and disjointed things to say! 😂)
Hi Liv! First off, thank you SO MUCH for such an amazingly thoughtful comment!
You are 'right on the money' with your observation that sometimes we KNOW things... but they still need to 'click' into place. For me, this concept of 'finding the feeling' is not new at all -- and I've been using it for years, however, the specific 'pin-pointing' of the feeling of relief felt like an epiphany. It was if, suddenly, I knew exactly what I REALLY wanted -- and when I simultaneously realized that I could feel it right NOW... it just felt like a magical discovery. It's funny how you can be on a journey of self-discovery like this... and still finding new depth to the process each and every day.
I wish you nothing but ease and joy in your journey of entrepreneurship. I have found that owning a business is one of those things that helps you find the ways in which you need to heal -- and, obviously, my tendency to overachieve and seek approval is something that I've been 'working on' for awhile. I can say that overall -- the experience has been nothing short of remarkable, rewarding, amazing, challenging and completely wonderful -- I couldn't imagine doing anything else, and I just feel so grateful that I've had this opportunity.
I'm HONORED that you thought of me in your business class - seriously! And also, I do NOT have this all figured out. Some days I feel like a giant imposter -- bumbling my way through... but I think that's normal. You will find your own voice and your own groove -- and I can't wait to watch it bloom into something really special and unique. Please make sure to keep me updated on what you are doing -- I'd genuinely love to cheer you on and help if I can.
Thanks again for being here and for reading - it means a lot!
Barb, I'm sending you so much love! We are the hardest on ourselves, even when we are doing more than enough. It feels 'wrong' to let go of trying to control things -- but I've found that I am able to bring so much more love and peace into everything I do when I don't need things to be different in order to find those feelings. It's definitely a challenge some days... but I'm (not) trying my best. Wishing you peace, friend!
“If you don’t save a bit of your time for you, now, out of every week…there is no moment in the future when you’ll magically be done with everything and have loads of free time.”
— Jessica Abel, author of the audio storytelling classic Out on a Wire, quoted in Oliver Burkeman’s book Four Thousand Weeks.
Pasted from: https://soundjudgment.substack.com/p/my-story-meet-your-story
YES!! This is SO TRUE!
I just re-listened to this post - didn’t realize how much I needed a refresher… glad I did!
This is so powerful, Anastasia. And wow, what a great poem. You're on track to "simplify" 2024. Thanks for sharing everything, this resonates so much. Sending lots of love!
You are so welcome Lia -- thank you so much for reading. It's funny... it's such a tiny little shift, and it feels like it changed everything. Our minds and hearts are so mighty! :)
Amen, sister! So well said! Reminds me of the song “The Climb” - “ain’t about how fast I get there, ain’t about what’s waitin’ on the other side; it’s the climb, it’s the climb”. Be here now. And what a great poem, I’m going to have to copy that one down! Thanks for sharing that, and your own personal experience, it really resonates. I’ve taken a different journey (as do we all) but ended up in the same space…
You are so welcome Marlene -- it IS the climb! Life is so much more enjoyable if I actually take the time to appreciate this step right now. And you said it perfect: we all end up in the same place, right? Coming back to ourselves -- and each other. Thank you for reading and commenting, it means a lot!
Reading/listening to this on the eve of a job interview... thank you for the reminder!
You are so welcome Maria! And I'm sending you so many wishes for a peaceful and calm job interview. If it feels fun... speak out loud the answer to this question: "Maria... tell me about the time when your job interview went SO WELL! What happened? How did you feel?" Have fun with it -- you're amazing!
I had so many thoughts surface while reading this. One in particular was our relationship to the concept of guilt. I feel that guilt is at least one of the layers to this idea of always needing to do more, be more, accomplish x-y-z…what is enough? I remember many years ago having a conversation with my sister (who is a cardiologist) why she felt guilty about not having a big family like mine and I, in turn, felt guilty about not having a successful, “career,” and was a full time mom! We were both on a nonstop treadmill of needing to do more, and yet, we were already there. Appreciating where we were would have saved us both a lot of anxiety!
I always wondered how you had the energy to do everything you do! 😜
I'm so glad to read about your recent journey deeper into the idea that "the feeling is always available to us" and that "the carrot will always be just out of reach." It is funny, isn't it, how we hear these things over and over again and yet it can take years for something to click and for us to really grasp and embrace it. Definitely need this reminder for myself.
Also really thankful to read this as I'm about to start my own business and can pretty much 100% relate to the "being the best" for approval as a kid that followed me into adulthood. In my case, though, the stress of being perfect has been so much it led to paralysis. I've started a lot of things in my head, but have been too scared to push them into fruition very far.
And the business course I'm taking right now, they recently asked "who are at least 3 people in your business model who are crushing it?" After a week of racking my brain, I could only think of 2 and one was you. But I'll be honest, I was concerned if I would be able to do as much as you do! Haha, so it's really great to read about your experience and learn from it before I burn myself out unnecessarily. 😅
The sunrise before the mountaintop is so true + beautiful and a metaphor I will take with me. 💜
(Sorry for the rambly, disjointed comment, haha, but I guess I had a lot of rambly and disjointed things to say! 😂)
Hi Liv! First off, thank you SO MUCH for such an amazingly thoughtful comment!
You are 'right on the money' with your observation that sometimes we KNOW things... but they still need to 'click' into place. For me, this concept of 'finding the feeling' is not new at all -- and I've been using it for years, however, the specific 'pin-pointing' of the feeling of relief felt like an epiphany. It was if, suddenly, I knew exactly what I REALLY wanted -- and when I simultaneously realized that I could feel it right NOW... it just felt like a magical discovery. It's funny how you can be on a journey of self-discovery like this... and still finding new depth to the process each and every day.
I wish you nothing but ease and joy in your journey of entrepreneurship. I have found that owning a business is one of those things that helps you find the ways in which you need to heal -- and, obviously, my tendency to overachieve and seek approval is something that I've been 'working on' for awhile. I can say that overall -- the experience has been nothing short of remarkable, rewarding, amazing, challenging and completely wonderful -- I couldn't imagine doing anything else, and I just feel so grateful that I've had this opportunity.
I'm HONORED that you thought of me in your business class - seriously! And also, I do NOT have this all figured out. Some days I feel like a giant imposter -- bumbling my way through... but I think that's normal. You will find your own voice and your own groove -- and I can't wait to watch it bloom into something really special and unique. Please make sure to keep me updated on what you are doing -- I'd genuinely love to cheer you on and help if I can.
Thanks again for being here and for reading - it means a lot!
Thanks Anastasia. Helping care for my parents who have dementia, I’m learning this lesson the hard way. Thank you for expressing this so beautifully.
Barb, I'm sending you so much love! We are the hardest on ourselves, even when we are doing more than enough. It feels 'wrong' to let go of trying to control things -- but I've found that I am able to bring so much more love and peace into everything I do when I don't need things to be different in order to find those feelings. It's definitely a challenge some days... but I'm (not) trying my best. Wishing you peace, friend!