Humans are multi-faceted creatures. We are incredibly complex, unique, and yet we are also stunningly similar and simple. Yup, we're walking paradoxes.
My guess is: you're juggling a lot of hats. Are you struggling to juggle all of your roles or to do some of them well?
If you're feeling overwhelmed, I'd like to offer you a tool, or perspective really, that when practiced can become a lifestyle that eases overwhelm and allows for more flow.
First, a short story:
In grad school, one of the many things I learned was that to do all of the things I aspired to do and to become all of the ways that I wanted to be, I'd have to get really good at juggling. Student, therapist, consultant, entrepreneur, designer, educator, artist... there were so many hats (and my Enneagram 3 wing 2 ass keeps adding more). Juggling it all can feel overwhelming, in large part because I was (and still am) healing a deep seated case of perfectionism. I also know that I'm not alone in feeling this pressure.
I'd spent my whole life battling against the messaging that I needed to choose a single pursuit from many dreams. My graduate studies became a bold move of doubling down on interdisciplinary professional development based on a commitment to creativity and focused personal growth.
The idea of juggling it all felt unwieldy, but as I studied the connection between creativity and consciousness, the idea of rotation began to crystalize.
Everything is a cycle. If we can embrace this, we can leverage this principle in our own lives to shift away from feeling the need do it all now and instead make our lives an exciting investigation of our own unique creative rhythms.
When do you feel most energized and inspired? What times of the day or days of the month do you move slower? What's that little hobby that's been calling you? Which adventure have you been wanderlusting over? How do you feel most cared for by yourself and others?
Asking and responding to these kinds of questions slow us down and challenge us to pay attention in a culture that is on perpetual overdrive. Creative rotation brings a sense of comfort and calm when I feel overwhelmed. It's about integrating practices that slow us down, stay curious and create joy.
We can't do it all at once, but we can design a life that allows us to rotate it all, let go of what isn't serving, find flow and ultimately align with a calling bigger than our egos.
This rotation in my life became the foundation of what is now a handmade marketplace in service to conscious creative change in the community. This virtual community center is not just a place for shopping handmade design or taking workshops and classes, but a hub for community empowerment and partnerships in service to creativity and growth at all stages of life.
I share this because there was a time when this was all a far fetched dream. Breadcrumbs of creativity led me here. I still feel overwhelmed, but I also now have cultivated the tools and perspectives that help me shift into greater alignment with my intuition and a design greater than myself.
As the multi-faceted person you are, I know there is some longing- and overwhelm- within you. Today, I hope you'll give yourself permission to lean into the idea of creative rotation and relax into the curious pursuit of whatever is calling on you. Trust that relaxing into your unique creative rhythms is the key to becoming who you are meant to become and manifesting your wildest dreams at every stage of life.
Even if what's calling you doesn't feel productive, know that incubation is an integral part of the growth process and the creative journey.
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