Perpetual soul searching is my thing. I've been daydreaming from as early as I can remember. Daydreaming, on the surface seems to be a waste of time, but I've accomplished quite a bit and each achievement started with a daydream. Now, 58 years in, I'm still daydreaming and soul searching. These days, my dreams lead me back to my kids and grand kids. At first I thought of this as "coming full circle", but then I realized that it's more like a pendulum, making it to full swing from one side to the other, then, finally, settling at neutral, or the set point. My set point will always be my kids and even though I've loved being of service to my students, both art and yoga, being of service to my kids is where I will settle.
Even though being available for my kids will be my top priority, I will still have a lot of time on my hands. As I'm sure I've mentioned here before, I have many ideas, passions, plans, etc.- not just sometimes, but all of the time. With another change on the horizon, I need to prioritize, so it's been a little extra to be in my brain lately. As I've been searching for help with this, I've been reading about brain dumping and other ways to prioritize time and energy. One method that really resonated with me involves list making, my favorite!
To do this, make three columns with the headings Passion, Practicality and Procurement. Then answer the questions, "What is my passion?"(What light you up?), "Is it practical?" (Will it easily fit into your lifestyle so it's achievable?) and "Will it lead to procurement?" (Will it help you achieve your goals?)
First, list your passions (and every single subcategory of each one that you can think of). Then, starting back at the top, run each of the items on your list through the practicality filter. Some of your ideas will immediately be eliminated if they aren't practical. From there, go back to determine if each one that checked off both the passion and practicality boxes, will also lead to the achievement of your end goal. Each item on your list will either check all of the boxes or just one or two. Very quickly, you've narrowed down your options and you can go from there with a much clearer mind.
It's such a relief to simplify your thought process. It is for me, at least. I'm not quite ready to announce what my list revealed, but I wanted to share the process with all of you, because of how helpful it was for me. (One hint about my answers is that it led to a major clean out of several spaces in my home, which is just an added bonus.)
I hope this helps if you, like me, are overwhelmed with ideas and plans and just need a little help clearing your head of a few of them.
Be Still. Be Strong. Be Happy.
Be Good. Do Good.
~ Juli
P. S. Another recent discovery is journaling in the 3rd person. Pretty powerful stuff. No need to explain, just do it and you will know.
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