Have you had one of those days that you should have just stayed in bed or took a play day? I recently had one of those days. Phone calls were not being answered, voice mail was not being checked, and typos and misspelled words were everywhere! I was just feeling ‘blah’. So rather than continuing to fight it – I took a nap.
I definitely felt better once I woke up, but things still weren’t flowing for me. So I decided to write about No Flow days. What do you do when the flow is clogged, you feel dull and listless instead of full of life and brilliance?
Some people will try and ‘power’ through it. However, my recommendation is to ”be easy” and let it pass. Pushing through it will many times make it worse. So back off, relax, and start over tomorrow.
Here are some suggestions you can apply when life seems to stand still or (heaven forbid) moves in reverse!
Know “This Too Shall Pass”
Blah days NEVER last. Sometime they pass quickly and are a faint memory until another one appears. We often forget when we’re traveling through “Stuckville” that life is movement. It never stands still – NEVER. It continues to move and flow if we get out of our own way and allow it to run its course. This too shall pass – the flow will return.
Realize that Lack of Flow can be a Gift
We live such fast-paced, scattered frenetic lives that we rarely just take time to “be easy” and relax. We have a 4 pound Yorkshire Terrier and when I take him to the Vet he wiggles and squirms from the time we walk in the door. I will hold him and say “be easy”. It doesn’t totally relieve his anxiety, but it does calm him and he feels cared for in my arms even though he doesn’t trust the hands and arms of the doctor reaching for him.
We need to learn to “be easy” rather than continuing to push, struggle and make things hard. It’s so much easier to flow downstream than to fight the current — relax and put the oars in the boat.
Surrender
We think our strength comes from controlling things. The reverse is typically true – we are often more empowered when we let go and allow things to unfold rather than forcing an outcome. What if rather than pushing, we relaxed into whatever is happening? What if we just let go and trusted we have whatever we need to get to the other side? What if rather than working – we rested; rather than thinking we tried “being”; what if rather than talking we listened?
Great action can occur while being still and quiet. We need to ‘be still and listen’ so we can ‘be still and know’. The listening always precedes the knowing. Perfect answers will often show up with grace and ease when we silence the static in our heads. Surrender is not about giving up – it’s about giving in– relaxing into ease and flow rather than effort and struggle. It’s about accepting that it’s ok to be human and say “I don’t have my best game today – so what! I will tomorrow or the next day. I’ve been here before and I lived to see another day.”
So relax, take a nap, listen rather than speak, try silence over the static of the TV, radio, or your internal chatter. The contrast of bad, blah or non-productive days help us appreciate the days we ARE on top of our game and moving at full throttle.
Happy Napping!
Tags: executive brilliance, jennifer whitaker, leadership development, leadership skills
