Getting Out of My Head and Into My Heart

I know that over the last year or so, I’ve been really mindful and aware of the fact that I’d felt stuck. So many of the dreams I’d had seemed out of reach, and I could not figure out why.

It struck me that I’m SUCH a planner, such a project manager, that a lot of my energy had gone into planning. In big ideas of how things will look WHEN …. you know, when I get my PMP Certification. When I finally finish the bathroom vanity … when I move my blog to wordpress.

All of this stuff was riding on a big fat WHEN. My future. The whole thing, it seemed like I had about 100 “predecessor tasks” (project management speak for “stuff that has to happen before this other thing can happen) before anything juicy could actually take place.

I realized that this was a bunch of BS and that I was actually giving myself some very convincing excuses (if not a few places to hide) from the things that I was saying I really wanted in my life.

What I’ve decided is that I have to get out of the place in my head that had so many “to dos” and get into that place in my HEART where I can live out my values, my intentions, and BE who I was born to be.

When I’m living from that place, from listening to my heart, to doing what I knew I really wanted, well things get easier. It’s easier to blog, to think up topics, to embrace leading retreats, and to really just live out who I am.

One of the things that I’d had the hardest time with, for a very long time, was being open about my spirituality. I had a very closed off, compartmentalized way of approaching my religious beliefs. I didn’t talk about them, never openly invited people to retreats, or posted “personal” stuff on my Facebook page. But yet I wanted people to read this blog, to follow along. Something was holding me back, perhaps the fear of sharing too much, or the fear of getting judged and rejected.

It’s still rocky. I still make mistakes, but I’m no longer constantly worried about how certain things appear, or worried that I need to do 73 things ahead of doing the one thing I really want to do. I just jump in and embrace it.

This is freeing. It’s exciting and can be terrifying. But I like this new way of “being” (not “doing”) things even better.

Comments

4 responses to “Getting Out of My Head and Into My Heart”

  1. margaret Avatar

    I’m relieved that someone else understands this feeling!! In our house it’s “just wait until”–just wait until we leave for the dig, just wait until we come back from the dig, just wait until school starts, just wait til the boys are a bit older, just wait til the new job starts….gaaaahhhh!! Thanks for sharing your path in this regard–it is helpful to hear! We–all of us–can’t keep waiting!

  2. Paula Avatar

    Yes! Margaret, I can totally relate. It’s hard to feel like there’s so much just waiting. Another approach might be to ask (yourself, you and your hubby) if some of the stuff really needs to wait? Is there an interim step that might be acceptable so you can get the weight of waiting off of your shoulders? Or, can you let some of the stuff go?

    I get totally weighed down with the to do list. It’s been freeing to let a few of the things go, which is part of the “Balance Course” as well.

  3. Jenny Brown Avatar

    I feel like your blog is always telling me the thing I need to know right now – how do you do that?
    I’m also waiting for a variety of things to magically fall into place before I can x, y, and z…rather than working toward all these goals at once. Thank you so much and good luck!

  4. Paula Avatar

    Hi Jenny 🙂 thank you – I’m glad we are in sync – good luck to you with your goals 🙂