💎 Friday Gems #24 (Taking Things Personally, The Power of Yet, Creative Struggle Loops, Plus Substack Roundup)
Gems, gems, get your weekly gems!
Kon'nichiwa Low Fidelity readers!
The past few weeks have been challenging for me. A challenging project at work and a trail race over the weekend, which was a tough one. In both situations, my fight or flight response kicked in, and I chose to fight through the unhelpful thoughts, and luckily, I survived. As I looked back, I realized that these tough situations are exactly what we need to grow. It’s these moments that show us who we are and how committed we are to reaching our potential.
May you find the power to fight through your challenges and come out stronger in the end. ✊🏽
On to this week’s gems!
💎 How not to take things personally at work
Oof! This one is a personal struggle that I have to continually remind myself not to fall into.
Taking things personally is quite easy for the mind to do and it is subtle. Our minds try to make meaning of situations, and if we are inclined to fall into stories easily, we start believing we are at the center of everything others do, and everything becomes about us.
One example from my experience is when I am presenting and I look at my audience. If I see someone with a straight face or are distracted, I immediately begin to think they are not enjoying the presentation. I start telling myself, “I’m not good at presenting,” or “they don’t like me”. As soon as these thoughts appear, my stress levels rise, and I end up not doing a good job of presenting.
One technique that has helped me overcome this tendency to take things personally is to remind myself that:
a. that there are a million different reasons why they are not smiling or are distracted. They may be having a bad day. It’s not always about me.
b. Maybe they really aren’t enjoying my presentation and I need to speak up and ask them if they have any questions instead of assuming and falling into a negative thought.
c. Realize that I can’t control how others feel or act. However, I can control how I react and shift my focus to what I can control and to do a great job instead.
Source: Techtello
💎 The Power of Yet
The power of the word yet is that it opens the doors to a world of possibilities.
I can’t do this!, becomes, I can’t do this, yet!
Yet helps us see past our obstacles.
Yet helps us move toward our true selves.
Yet helps us lean in and take the time we need.
Yet helps us develop resilience.
Yet helps us slice through uncertainty and doubt.
Yet helps us stand up for ourselves.
Keep trying, and don’t give up because you will find a way to overcome any obstacle in your way!
Source: Sesame Street
💎 Loops that cause creative struggle
I’m an overthinker. I spend too much time thinking about a task and worrying about it. Slowly building up my worry and crafting intricate stories about just how difficult it is in my mind without having taken any action.
Right when I take action, the task seems simple and easy and I wonder why I spend precious time worrying about it.
Source:
💎 Substack Gems Roundup
Substack is all about bringing new voices to learn from. In this section, I share gems from writers on Substack to can help us make the shift to better mindsets and guide us toward our true selves.
Do we need to know who we are and where we are going before we can make our art, whatever form that takes?
This is the question
asks in his post Two kinds of introspection.From my own experience, I get blocked from creating when I shift my focus away from what I create and onto how others perceive my work. I don’t even get close to the introspection of what I create and why I create it. I get caught up in external validation and forget about what my art is asking of me.
Henrik’s post is a good reminder that our job is to create and explore the art that is within us, to let it guide us and shape us to its true expression.
Our thoughts have the power to sweep us out of the present moment and off to worrying about past experiences or making us anxious about the future that is yet to come. We get locked into our thoughts, thinking they are our reality, but the truth is our thoughts are fleeting, and as
reminds usMuch like the clouds in the sky, we can observe them as they pass through our awareness without reacting to them.
Breathwork can set you free from thoughts that steal your attention away from showing up as your true self.
Do you have a favorite Substack you like to read? Share it in the comments. I would love to include it in the next Friday Gems issue.
💎 Gem of a Quote
Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air, and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.
― Warren Berger
A shift in perspective can transform our journey from something we check off our list to one that we enjoy along the way because it helps us learn about ourselves and gets us closer to our full potential.
Let me know in the comments if any of the gems resonate with you. I always love hearing from you. :)
Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic weekend!
Rizwan