Exiting Funky Town: PYL In-Flight: June 14, 2022
Welcome Back My Funky Passengers:
I have been in a major funk the last few months. I don’t quite know when it started but thanks to a quick workshop I ‘attended’ yesterday presented by Rachel Masters on “How to Actually Be Happy,” I see an opportunity to exit what I am referring to as funky town.
When I was on Clubhouse in 2020, I met some amazing people, mostly through the virtual coworking room I created on the platform. Back in November 2020 I even recorded a YouTube video on how Clubhouse saved me.
It’s quite possible that Clubhouse (indirectly) will be saving me again as I met Rachel, the “How to Actually Be Happy” workshop creator, through Clubhouse nearly two years ago.
I’ve had an endless To Do list for the last six months and no motivation and energy to tackle anything on it.
Every Sunday morning, I review my accomplishments for the week and make a plan for the following week, and frankly I don’t know why I’ve bothered.
Each week, the list is a carryover from the previous week, and as the list grows longer, the tasks / projects that require creative energy never seem to get any attention, even though they are the ones that bring me the greatest joy.
I was waiting for inspiration, motivation and the energy to do the work. I was overwhelmed by the long list, and let it drain me of what little energy I had.
After doing the exercises in Rachel’s workshop, I was reminded of what really brings me joy: connection, self-expression, creativity, curiosity, freedom, and learning.
These are the things that get me out of bed in the morning and keep me inspired throughout the day.
The last action of the workshop was to put a plan in place and start taking action as soon as possible. I jumped all over this and scheduled personal meetings on the calendar.
This morning I took George to the dog park before walking over to Little Green (our new coffee/plant bar just down the street) and outlined the intro for a Piloting Your Life coaching series I plan to launch on Blawesome. I committed to Jennifer (Jen) Kruidbos, the CEO/Co-Founder, on July 1, 2021, that I would do this and here we are nearly a year later, and I am finally taking some action.
Yes, I had a big client project from July 2021 to April 2022 that sucked up all of my energy.
But the real reason I was holding back was fear. I’ve avoided anything related to coaching because it seems like everyone is a life coach and that’s not how I want to be labeled or seen. Who am I to be ‘coaching’ people through the midlife transition? What credentials do I have?
And then yesterday I decided I didn’t care about how I would be seen; I wanted to share the wisdom from my (well researched) book, in accessible chunks, on the Blawesome platform. I’ve reframed it as a creative experiment.
The first video is semi-scripted and tomorrow I have a call with the folks at Blawesome to define the next steps.
As for my credentials, I wrote a damn book on the topic and have been blogging about and doing YouTube videos on the topic for the last four years.
At a minimum, I will be taking George to the dog park twice a week to tire him out for a snooze at Little Green where I plan to work on creative projects like my second book, blog posts, and relaunching Piloting Your Life.
Little Green may be for book #2 what Cru was for Piloting Your Life. I can totally see having the launch party at Little Green. It’s a great space. (Note: I wrote most of Piloting Your Life at Cru and the owner, Donato, was kind enough to provide the space and tasty treats for the launch party in October 2019).
This feels good. I feel lighter. I feel inspired. I feel more positive.
It also helps that I’m in talks with a few potential clients on some interesting (not soul sucking) projects.
Now that George is older (5 months as of last week), he’s more independent and requires less from me. He’ll sleep under a table at a restaurant or in the soft-sided crate in my office, or pretty much anywhere he can get to and make himself comfortable (like the couch). He’s living up to his name, Good Boy George.
I will leave you with this bit of funkiness…Finn modeling (?) their new outfit from Rehreh Threads and Goods on Woodside in Redwood City. Yes, those are cassette tapes on the muscle tee. Good gracious this is so funny to me. And do you know how my kids know about cassette tapes? Guardians of the Galaxy. Ugh!
May you find peace, acceptance, and love today as you navigate being human.
With much love and gratitude,
Terri
P.S. Take the controls and be the pilot in your own life. It’s a beautiful day to fly, and you are cleared for takeoff.
Song: Funky Town by Lipps, Inc
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