Should You Buckle Down or Trust Your Flow?
When you feel like you’re doing nothing…
When you’re judging yourself, feeling like you should be further along…
… you might be gathering the energy and information you need to make your next steps far more effective and aligned than if you would’ve pushed it.
This was such a learning curve for me.
As a writer, when I sit down the words pour out of me.
It’s as if someone is writing through me… except for the rare times I push it.
The times I haven’t given myself the space to gather the energy and information I need for things to flow like a waterfall.
I say rare because I’ve been a professional writer for over a decade.
Yet still, once in a while, I push past my instincts to wait.
My body’s pull for a pause.
And every time, I’m taught that my pause is sacred.
That magic is on the other side.
Society shames the non-linear process.
They encourage you to shimmy yourself into routines that don’t fit.
That’s not to say laziness doesn’t exist, that procrastination is not a real issue, or that you should never push yourself.
It’s a spectrum, and it’s all about your archetype.
>> Ask yourself these questions:
- How do you work best, when you drop the rules and look at your results?
- What leads you to the most aligned and effective action?
- When you look back on your most successful moments, what set you up for them?
I’ve found that the people who thrive in a non-linear approach are the creatives, perfectionists, overachievers, and those who are highly attuned to energy.
Who sometimes feel like they’re moving too slow and too fast at the same time.
Who always knew their way was different, and that it wasn’t wrong.
Those who perhaps have evidence of the above phenomenon – a non-linear approach working best for them.
We’ve often been pushed into rigid structures that don’t serve us, from a young age:
- The school day
- Standardized tests
- The work day
- Group projects
- Team sports
If this is you, you may need to pause more often, and not just that, but fully celebrate and relish your pause…
… because your process is meant to be non-linear.
That is how you produce your best work without burning out.
If you know this is true for you, trust that.
Of course, there are some who need more fire, push, accountability… and if that’s you, trust that too.
Experiment with complete reverence for your natural flow, and see what comes out next time you sit down to do something important.
Our bodies hold so much knowledge when we get quiet and listen, but they don’t have space to speak when we judge, rush, and push.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below.
In flow,
Lula
