So much input. So much great content. There are a lot of really wonderful people out there sharing a lot of really wonderful stuff. The internet is awesome.
But here's the thing about the internet. You can get lost surfing the web. Riding the wave of great ideas. Following the links. Checking out those next three things in the 'You might be interested in...' section at the bottom. Scrolling down the search results just one more time. Checking out that stuff in the Resources list. On and on.
I have been soaking up so much good stuff, that now I feel overloaded. It's time to stop the flood of input - even though it's great input.
I realized this when I was looking at my personal altar. It's a beautiful old round metal tray. I put on it the things I need to remember until they are habits. The things that symbolize my intentions. The things that make me feel good about my journey. One day, as I sat down to meditate, I realized that my tray was so crowded with great stuff that I couldn't really appreciate anything on it. It was all very important, but it was just too much. My 'plate' was full. Too full.
My head is too full, too. Too many ideas, too many voices, too many intentions, too many fears. All of that great input had become high quality distractions. I am distracting myself with other people's great content because I fear I don't have great content of my own. I fear that my own wisdom is lacking. I fear that what I have to offer isn't enough.
However, just because I fear those things are true doesn't mean they actually are true. So I've decided to do an experiment.
I have cleared my altar. I noticed the redundancies and have removed the extras. I kept something to represent RECEIVING, something for BALANCE and something for TRANSFORMATION. That is all. That is enough.
In addition, I am weeding out my inbox. I pay attention to how a newsletter feels when I open it and if I feel tight and anxious, I unsubscribe. No more following the links to podcasts or interviews or the next great online retreat. Those things are all wonderful, it's just that the timing is off right now. I need to process. I need space to hear my own thoughts and do my own thing. I need to trust my own voice. I am enough.
You are enough, too. What things are you using as high quality distractions because you don't feel like you're enough?
Let them go.
I'd like to invite you to join our Best Self facebook group where we can talk freely about becoming our best selves - and all the messy work that entails. In addition, I have another group, The Well Balanced Artist, for creatives of all kinds and in all stages of their creative lives, who are trying to balance their art, business and personal lives.
