Our lives and the way we create the experience of them is a dance of what we can’t control (other people, outcomes, the world), and that which we can…..

It’s a short list.

(Hint: Ourselves)

In an obsessive tendency to force ourselves to the next level, we can abandon ourselves. (This was the story of my life)

Abandoning our health, our relationships, and our joy.

For once we have reached that next level of business, impact, money, etc — that is when I have arrived, yes?

That is the glorious moment where, like Rocky Balboa, I can jump up and down and say,

‘I’ve made it. Now I have permission to feel peace and relax my mind after many years of seeking what I sensed was missing.’

Have you had this experience?

The experience of reaching that final next level and the glorious gates open and you find yourself singing a soulful song of celebration and relaxation….

Or, does the next level loop begin once again? Where all that has changed is the external target.

You may be looking at what 2022 has in store for you.

You may have hired support to help you envision it.

You may be excited stepping through the process of what’s next.

I offer an alternate way to step into/continue your process…

If my life felt complete now, what would I create?

If I no longer needed to prove anything, where would my focus be?

I used to believe that if my life felt complete, then I would sit on the couch and do nothing ever again. Fortunately, that has not been the case.

What has been incredible is seeing the quality and enjoyment that occurs when I create something from the feeling of total contentment.

It’s from here that your choice of time use is more like a simple choice of coffee or no coffee.

We can still have an eye and a hand on the path we are choosing, without the extra tension.

We can loosen the reigns a bit, and the world won’t fall apart as we often believe.

And as the tension that says I should, must, and need falls away, there is often a clearer path forward in support of that vision.

As we loosen the mental grip, new possibilities emerge.

Let me know how that goes.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season.

Be well,

Matt

PS: If you find yourself balking at this idea — you may find it useful to consider the times in life where clinging too tightly to something created a counter result from what was wanted / intended.