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June 26, 2021

The Best Question to Ask Yourself when You Feel like you aren’t Doing Enough.

Life can feel like a rat race, sometimes.

Sometimes all of the time. And sometimes this can be in service of our goals and dreams.

It can be the relentless pursuit to create the life that we desire. One that is, at the deepest level, an expression of our soul.One that allows our passions and life experiences to be of service to the world. That can be the end goal, and yet sometimes the drive to get “there” can feel exhausting, draining, and depleting.

In the moment, it can feel like we are juggling too many plates and something is about to get dropped. It can feel like we are never doing enough.

This is where the beauty of mindfulness and the present moment comes in.

Yes, chase your dreams. But don’t forget that all there (really) is, is now.

As Trevor Hall beautifully sings in “Wish Man, ‘Hey wish man, tell me what’s your wish? Close your eyes all we have is this.'” If there were ever song lyrics to knock you back on your heels, that would be it.

Try it. Don’t take my (or Trevor Hall’s) word for it. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes and put your hand on your heart. Take a few deep breaths. Feel your body, your breath, the space you are occupying.

That. That is what is real.

If you’ve been carrying the weight of “I am not doing enough” on your body recently, go within and ask yourself:

What would doing enough look like?

If your inner critic is the one who responds, it is going to feel frantic, heavy, and it may feel like you are spinning—that’s not it yet. Take another deep breath and allow that deep place of wisdom to respond. It will feel grounded, and it probably will not be a lot of words.

Recently, I took myself through this exercise when I was feeling frantic. When I allowed myself to pause, slow down, and check in with myself, I realized I was holding the thought that I was not doing enough. That I would never get “there.”

Asking the question, “What would doing enough look like?” felt like the sun coming through the fog. My answer was, “Doing enough would look like breathing more deeply and intentionally throughout the day.” That was it.

Doing enough did not mean becoming the world’s most productive human overnight. It was simply breathing more. Being more present. More in tune with now—coming home more.

Allowing our own wisdom to have a voice will help us get back in touch with our truth, rather than what the world demands we must do.

Sometimes “doing enough” will look like getting that one dreaded item checked off your list. Sometimes it will be altering the way you schedule your days, slightly. Sometimes it will be the way you approach something differently. But there is always something. And it is rarely the mountain we are afraid that it might be.

When we get in touch with the lies and false beliefs we are telling ourselves and then allow the place of our deep wisdom to speak, the way always becomes clear.

What does “doing enough” look like to you?

~

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