Repeat after me: the ebb is needed for the flow.
Been thinking about this a lot: despite how much we want to always move full speed ahead, the “slowdown” is required for consistent forward-moving progress. After ending a year of pushing pushing pushing, I started to feel bad that I haven’t been pushing as much and as hard recently…oh no, am I less motivated?! But it’s like a rapidly moving river that rushes so quickly it collides unharmoniously against the rocks, vs. one at a slower pace that is able to flow around obstacles and keep moving smoothly forward.
After the holidays and being sick, I was behind on work and when the weekend came I was feeling the pressure to get back on track. But something in me knew I was pushing too hard, forcing it, causing resistance to my creative flow. Instead, I decided to go to the museum. After a few hours of staying open and present, an inspired idea popped into my head — it was the idea that my client fell in love with and told me, “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this for 17 years.” (Cue: tears!)
I also heard an analogy this week that it’s like the Panama Canal: when a ship enters a lock, it needs to stay still to be raised up and allowed to progress to the next lock and the next level up.
Be the ship in the lock. Be still and allow yourself to be raised up to keep moving forward!
Top photo by Frank McKenna via unsplash
