What’s that movie where the guy wakes up reliving the same day?
Groundhog Day?
Yea that feels like me. Mercury retrograde is gone and now the universe is showing me what is real instead of projections of what my life can be.
I find myself thinking about the past. Thinking about people and perspectives from what feels like a lifetime ago. I wonder if this is all just a test to see if I’ve learned my lesson.
Did I reflect inside enough to reveal the patterns that hold me back?
Did I make myself aware enough to the inner crap that keeps me stuck in the same looping version of my life?
Earlier this year my birthday came and went, with little fanfare. I wasn’t up for much celebrating. As an anxious Pisces with a ton of unsorted inner crap, I am always in mid-life crisis mode, except when the Yankees are winning.
I’m on the self loathing side of 30 where “woe is me” is the national anthem.
That limbo space where even Mulder and Scully look at each other like “I don’t know. I got nothing.” Shrugging in a way that only Peter Griffin does.
Turning 30 was a doozy. Now I’m in between. In between 35 and 40. These in between years come with their own baggage on top of my own unrealized potential, the guilt that defines my dark circles on my eyes.
Yes, I am a fish and this year I declared it the year of Dori.
A few people told me that no matter what happens I should keep it moving. Even when I fall flat on my face, fail publicly and lose money that was better spent on living expenses and bills.
I’ve seen many entrepreneurs come and go. They are full of aspiration, energy and optimism. Then reality sets in.
This is a marathon and not that half-marathon bullshit but like a full on “shut the city down” kind of marathon.
This entrepreneurial lifestyle is not for those who only want to run a sprint. You have to KEEP IT MOVING even when all you want to do is stop.
How do you keep it moving when all you want to do is crawl up under your blanket, order takeout and watch a Real Housewives of Atlanta marathon?
- Micro-manage yourself.
Seriously, this works. You need a drill sergeant without the screaming at 5am to do 500 pushups. Become your own bossy supervisor. Create a schedule for yourself. Start with the time you wake up and end with the time you go to sleep. Don’t leave any second unaccounted for. Factor in lunch, meditation, live tweeting Scandal, procrastination time – EVERYTHING. Do this for a week or two. Give yourself positive reinforcements. The goal is to feel accomplished when your motivation level is low.
- Enlist the support of an accountability buddy (accountabilibuddy).
When Butters arrived at Camp New Grace, he quickly learned the hard way what happens when someone doesn’t have an accountabilibuddy to help keep them in check. Find someone who can hold you accountable. If you signup for the Savor Circles you get to have 3 accountability buddies! What you need is to held liable for what you say you’re going to do.
Write that newsletter, launch that website, re-organize your blog content, update your social media profiles – whatever you need to get done, declare it with someone who will keep your ass in check.
(Feel free to Google “Butters accountabilibuddy” at your own risk!)
- Go small to go big.
If you feel like you’re spinning your wheels and not going anywhere then pause and reflect on your trajectory. When did you first start business? Yesterday? 5 minutes ago? I didn’t think so.
Track back your journey and write all of your accomplishments, even the small ones.
Rarely does a team win the World Series on home runs alone. You have to be great over the course of 160 games and then you have to win the ALDS/NLDS and ALCS/NLCS before you can even get to the World Series.
Once you’re there you have to win the best of 7. That’s a lot and to put all your eggs in a few home runs is not realistic.
Celebrate your smaller victories.
- Get off the Internet.
If you’re experiencing low energy, lack of motivation or a general “EF this” feeling then passing the time on Facebook is not going to be a good use of your time. Get some Vitamin D and take a walk outside. If you can, leave your phone at home and live it up like it’s 1999.
Disconnect to reconnect so that you can listen to the inner voices that are trying to get your attention and zone out the outside voices that are driving you insane.
- Buy something that doesn’t die.
I prefer cactus and fake flowers. They give the illusion of nature without the maintenance of having to keep them alive. If you want to get super creative then decoupage the vase.
I took affirmations from Pinterest and channeled my inner Martha Stewart by making it look pretty. Then I channeled my inner Crafty Chica and went to town on it with glitter.
Sparkly empowerment.
Whenever I question myself or second guess this adventure, I look at the cactus and remind myself that I’m not dying of dehydration in some desert. I also call this “PERSPECTIVE.”
- Surround yourself with colors that emanate the emotion you want to feel.
Color therapy works, in my opinion. I LOVE the color pink. I also have strong feelings for purple, green and blue but they don’t come close to my deep desires for pink. We are kindred souls.
Pink represents the Heart Chakra and it’s the source for love and kindness. It’s also nurturing and feminine which are energies I need at all times.
When I need to do some soul searching and meditation I turn to blue which represents the Throat Chakra and it’s the source for communication, truth and wisdom.
- Give your inner bitch the mic.
An occasional “fuck you” can be cathartic. Semantically these are just words. Culturally these words carry power, sometimes too much of it.
When you don’t want to move forward because you feel stuck, alone or tired – channel your inner bitch and let her speak. What you might find is an emotional release which has been unconsciously blocking you.
These strategies are not meant to be long term solutions.
They are meant to give you a reprieve from the day-to-day chaos that comes with being entrepreneurial. Some days we want to just control+alt+delete our business, brand and life but that’s not practical.
What is practical is having some go-to tips so that you can “JUST KEEP SWIMMING” when you find yourself going against the currents.