I have learned over the years to never start my resolutions or goals in January. There's just too many parties, catch ups and hangovers from all the festive activities and I think that each year that I have put my heart and soul into something, something has always gone wrong or awry and I end up feeling like I've failed. So, I always start “officially” in February but I do a “test” in January just to get warmed up for the things that I want to do. That means when things do get in the way of what I want to do then it's O.K. It's only really a “warm up” before I really get going! So if you have started something this year and have already failed, join me by starting again in February. My goals this year are to get back into the space of my body. I want to start running, maybe swimming and I want to deepen my yoga practice. I also wanted to clean up my diet by going completely vegan and just cutting out the last few pieces of dairy that were in my diet ( mainly chocolate ). It comes from an intuitive message I got last year to “take care of my temple”. I'm on it but I'm not going to lie, my running shoes haven't seen the pavement yet and I still haven't gone for a swim. There's no real issue behind not doing it other than a little bit of self sabotage and a little bit of laziness but it did lead me to the question, when do you give yourself a kick up the butt and when is your intuition guiding you in another direction?
I read a little while ago about the 40% rule. Basically it's an idea in fitness that once you've hit your “wall” of pain you've actually only hit 40% of what you can do. That wall is only a mental barrier and once you've pushed through it you actually have a lot more in your engine. I am not for a second going to give myself licence to say that my intuition has told me to stop running, no, that's just my inability to peel myself off the sofa but, there have been things in other areas of my life where I was trying to push past the 40% when my intuition did tell me to pack up and go home. There are times when I am writing or painting and the concentration starts to make me feel like I am flagging a bit and in that moment I can either put my brushes down or step away from the lap top or I can dig in and get another few hours out of myself. I have trained myself to recognise that space as just a need for a small breather, a cup of coffee and then I get straight back to it. There are times though when I recognise a small voice within me that tells me to stop. It tells me to put my brushes down before I ruin the painting or to stop writing because the quality has plummeted. There is a point where continuing is doing you more damage than if you just push through. So, how do you tell the difference?
For me I don't stop until that inner voice becomes a nagging pull. There is a difference between a hurdle and a full stop. A hurdle will disappear once you've crossed it but a full stop will drag you down until you cease. Ask yourself if this is a hurdle or not? If you need to come to a complete stop then do it, that doesn't mean that you've failed. It just means that the Universe has found a quicker or better way for you to get where you want to go. It's up to you to decide whether you are at a hurdle or a full stop. What does it feel like? Are you just at your pain barrier? Are you just at your 40%? What do you gain by stopping? What do you gain by carrying on? You may just need a rest or you may just need to find a better way of doing what you are doing. A full stop is not a failure, it is in itself sometimes a deeply disguised hurdle! Just play with the idea for a bit and the answer will come. It always does. Remember that the Universe benefits from the happiest version of you so its guiding you in that direction. Listen carefully and don't forget to play!
Thank you for reading,
Big Love,
Ryan James ( and his unused running shoes ) xxx