Your Priorities Are Allowed to Shift
The past week for me has involved a day at court for Jury Duty, an anti-ICE ( / pro-compassionate humanity) protest initiated by fourth graders at my six-year-old's school and a public school teachers' strike all week here in San Francisco.
Between scrambling to make daily childcare plans, crafting signs, joining picket lines, delivering early morning boxes of coffee, parsing out school district information, engaging in hours of text threads around how best to support our community through this disruptive moment…
Suffice it to say, my attention and energy have been disseminated differently than “normal” this week.
But that can be said for just about all of us with the steady drumbeat of “big” things swirling in the country and world these days.
In phases like these where it feels like a lot is coming at us, it serves us well to simplify.
To focus in on what truly matters most today.
Right now.
Your top priorities for what to focus on or accomplish in an average day or week might look (very) different when things go topsy-turvy.
It's supportive in these unexpected, balance-tilting moments to pause and check in with yourself:
Where makes most sense to place my energy today?
Of all the things asking for my attention, what are my true, top, values-aligned intentions for today?
What can I be OK with deferring or dropping for today?
What can I ask for support with today?
How can I help myself stay reasonably grounded / regulated today?
* And what practices or habits do I need to dial up or down accordingly?
Where can I extend myself some extra grace / self-compassion today?
And be sure to tune in to notice moments and experiences that spark a sense of joy, awe, wonder or delight within you on days when things feel wonky.
Pause to soak those feel-good moments through your senses into your being like the roots of a plant soaking up water. Not only does noticing the beautiful and pleasant feel good, it's regulating for your nervous system too.
And goodness knows this world needs more regulated humans walking around it and leading within it.
For me, these moments of delight have lately often involved taking in the pink colors and bubblegum scents of the blooming cherry blossom tree in front of my house, listening to bird songs, watching hummingbirds, long tech-free walks through lushly green Golden Gate Park and dance parties with my daughter.
(If you happened to miss Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance, here's an instant hit of joy for you.)
When in doubt, simplify, ground and connect to a glimmer of delight.
Lots of Love,
Melissa
PS - If you’re curious about exploring these themes in a sweetly personalized way, be in touch about 1:1 coaching possibilities.