I once worked with a woman who attacked her days so hard she often forgot to eat, usually didn’t get home until 10pm at the earliest, smoked and drank too much, and was dumbfounded when her body started screaming “Enough!” and she found herself ill.
I’ve had friends toiling under the constant stress of holding down two jobs, trying their best to be amazing mothers, not to mention partners and housekeepers, and holding together all the other pieces of the puzzle required to keep up with the life they think they’re meant to live.
I work my butt off too, with a very well-honed “Go hard or go home” attitude.
But when I spin my wheels too fast, and do dumb things like putting the hood on my cat’s litter tray the wrong way around so that she can’t access the door and has to find somewhere else to do her business (a folded towel on the floor was her choice, and a pretty good one because the carpet never even knew… don’t ask me why the towel was there in the first place), that’s my signal that it’s time to stop, and wait a minute.
If our power is internal (and it is), then the only way to stay connected with ourselves is on the inside.
Presence means being present. You can’t have a captivating presence nor be a powerful speaker without it.
Staying connected is what grounds you when you speak, especially when you find yourself in a confronting situation – on a stage, or in a conversation in which you’re speaking about something that truly matters.
Staying connected is what stops you from buying in to other people’s ideas, beliefs, reactions, or distractions.
Ultimately, staying connected is what allows you to do life your way, aligned with your truth. Then, when you stand up to speak, it’s what informs every word you say – or don’t say – and the way you say it.
As someone who’s intuitive and very aware of what’s going on around me and how other people feel, staying connected with myself continues to be my greatest learning.
These days, I reckon I’m the closest I’ve ever been to walking the tightrope with what looks a bit more like a waltz than a wobble dance.
This is what it looks like each day, as the minimum essentials:
- Meditation. Absolutely once a day, every single morning before my daughter gets up, without fail. Aiming for twice a day.
- Exercise. What works best for me is power walking through the parklands while listening to music, and blessing nature along the way, with thanks to the trees, ground beneath me, birds, breeze, dogs, ducks, sun, clouds and whatever else I encounter. My power walks are sacred, and keep me connected with my heart and my joy. Bliss.
- Play time. This happens each night when my daughter is in bed. This has become non-negotiable for me on weeknights. I need at least an hour to either draw or colour in, listen to music, dance (yep, on my own), or read something that touches my heart. Sometimes I write too, but never for work.
- Qigong. Thirty minutes. Within seconds of starting this practice, I enter a state of calm and peace unlike any other. If I’ve had past lives, I’m sure they included Qigong. Many of my ideas for what I write come to me during Qigong. If I haven’t managed to get to Qigong during the day, I’ll include it in my evening play time before bed.
- Time at my altar, even if just for a few minutes. I usually do this before I go to bed. It’s my place to offer gratitude and speak whatever I need to speak. I don’t say it to anyone or anything else in particular – often I need to hear my own voice to work out where I’m at with something. Sometimes writing in my journal does the trick.
For work, I have other practises that have also become non-negotiable for me to do my best work. And guess what? They all happen on the inside.
Let me be very clear. If I miss a few of these steps, I become very wobbly very quickly. Connection is delicate. It’s essential for me to feel the ways I want to feel in my world.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Your power stems from your inner life, where you’re 100% your real self. Your ability to own that allows you to speak and behave outwardly without feeling like a fraud. It allows you to speak powerfully.
The world and all its goings-on and shiny, false desires won’t – can’t – restore your worth.
It’s up to you to restore your worth to the world – and it’s what you’re here for.
The only way is in. Then, you can gracefully find your way out, all the while staying connected to what’s true for you.
Just imagine, how powerfully would you speak – and live – then?
What would you say good bye to, once and for all?
What would you replace it with?
~~
There’s something big brewing around here to guide you to your true power. It’s called The Story Temple, and when you step inside, you’ll discover and speak your truth.
You’ll be part of a community of other powerful women. Together, in sacred space, we’ll make magic – and a difference – with our words and our work. Oh, and you’ll unleash the most powerful version of yourself and your voice, and blow your audiences away.
I’ll be sending invitations only to women who receive my weekly love letters. Make sure you’re one of them.
Just pop your details in the box below:
[join_wisetalk]
