No
What made me feel awake this week?
This week it’s something new. I said no. Not no to a person, an entity, or a place. No, I said no to me. Sounds a bit crazy, but I’m referring to the side of me nagging in the background for me to do more, be more, achieve more, just because I can, just because I exist. We’ll call her ‘Overachiever Mya’.
I recently experienced a stress related health scare that landed me in the hospital on a random Thursday. When I got home to rest at doctor’s orders, I reflected on how I may have got there. Maybe my recent move to Phoenix from LA. Or maybe it’s the chaotic promotion at work. No, it’s got to be the yoga sculpt certification I started the week after I moved in. Nahh, definitely has to be going back to finish my degree in the midst of it all, right? I joke about it because it’s almost comical the amount of things ‘Overachiever Mya’ can convince me to do at once.
But this week I took a step back, because at this point a decline in my mental or physical health is not worth it. I decided to ask myself “What would make Overachiever Mya the most upset?” and did the first things that came to mind. Because anything is worth a shot at this point right? First, I dropped one of the classes I was in, the one demanding the most of me. Because I can live a life of ease even in my academic career and honestly I want to enjoy this process. And second, I decided to resign from my yoga sculpt teaching position. Whew, that one was a big one for me. I have been in some way connected to the wellness industry since 2019. And due to the stress I had been feeling at work (as a manager for a major tech company might I add), I thought teaching again would feed that creative side of me. But to be honest, I ended up dreading it some days. The obligation to show up for even more people after a trying week in the corporate world. It was hard to come to terms with because it was a passion I made my identity. To the point, I couldn’t even take a fitness class and not feel like “I could teach this”, then ‘Overachiever Mya’ signs me up for a certification course the next day. But I let it go. And you KNOW she was upset about it. Which is how I know I made the right decision. Focusing on what gives me the most energy in return for what I give. You may wonder, what about the stressful job? Well, that stressful job also allows me to be flexible, travel, move where I want, afford what I want. The way I am fed aligns with what I feed it (and honestly it’s also gotten much better, thank you Jesus!).
This week’s awakening experience made me think back on a spiritual reading I got in New Orleans where she told me “Your ancestors say there is nothing left for you to achieve in this moment. Go climb trees and eat some strawberries.” And I think they would be proud.
So now I ask you, how can you align your life more this week to make time for climbing trees and eating strawberries?
