Good Humaning: Change is happening all the time.

Change is happening all the time, even when you feel most stuck.

There is a goal I have my eye on, and I know I’m not quite there yet.

When I’m “not quite there” I am generally hyper-focused on the barriers, the challenge, and the difficulties I have to conquer and not fully appreciating, or even noticing, the benefits of the change as I go along.

Even my language is harsh. “Conquering” leaves no room for the lightness of small wins, the encouragement of those around me, or the freedom of my own breath to flow through me.  When I have to “overcome” something, I am usually holding my breath.

Change is no small thing. It isn’t just one single decision. “Just Do It” refers to the myriad of small decisions it takes to arrive at a cumulative effect. Just…wake up earlier. Just…walk longer. Just…breath deeper. From there, add more.

Change almost always happens in stages even if we are not fully aware of them. I am not the person I was yesterday. If I learned something, I am yesterday +1.

Lasting change is almost always much more complex than a “Just Do It” and usually requires education, support systems, and ever-increasing awareness about maintaining the direction and inertia of your decisions.

If you are not quite ready to change, contemplating change, reading about the benefits of change, and seeking out support may actually be service of laying the foundation for lasting change.

In the end, it is just about putting one foot in front of the other and trying not to trip.

/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal

Good Humaning: The external is an illusion.

Don’t be swayed by anyone’s facade.

Sick or well, rich or poor, successful or unsuccessful – reverse the logic of trying to avoid suffering or risk to seek pleasure or safety.  If you wish success for yourself, wish it for others first.

It sounds counterintuitive and even unpleasant to take on sickness, poverty or lack of success–but the more you own the unwanted in yourself, you realize all the others who are in the same circumstances.

/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal

Good Humaning: Failure v Fame

Whichever way you’re tipping, the goal is to stay neutral.

Whatever is happening in my life, the joyful or the painful, I can’t get swept up in the reactivity of either. High highs are fun but it takes time to settle back in again. Low lows are never fun and take a lot of energy to regain equilibrium.

Craftsmen understand this emotional pendulum well as they show up to their Craft, day in and day out. They know the thrills of solving a challenge and learning something new about a medium they’ve dedicated their lives to deepening. They know all too well the depths of frustration when problems remain unresolved and new, unpredictable constraints present themselves.

When this happens to me, I have to remember patience. I have to practice compassion. I have to regain perspective.

/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal

Good Humaning: Be singular in your intention.

Craftsmen work with a singular intention. Everything they do directly or indirectly benefit others. We benefit by the beauty they create and the standards they elevate.

If I take the attitude of wanting my work to benefit others I increase my community and kinship with the people around me.

/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal

Good Humaning: Be unpredictable.

Don’t hold a grudge against those who have you wrong. That’s what people expect.

It’s hard though. When I’ve been slighted, felt used by others, ignored or overlooked I want to retaliate, strike back, humiliate or malign. It’s a natural reaction.

And we are, all of us, just sorting it out, trying to find our tribes. I move on.

Instead, go be successful.

/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal

Good Humaning: Maintain joy.

Joy is something innate to each human being. There is no need to go in search of it.I need to remember that under all my worry, my thinking, my processing, that it is there lying dormant and waiting for me to access it.I need to remember to:

• find gratitude for what I'm capable of (it guides me),

• find joy in the work I choose to labor over (it feeds me),

• the journey I'm on (that enlightens me),

• the people in my life (that nourish me),

• the difficulties I have (that teach me),

• the uncomfortable emotions I have when I'm learning (they wake me up).

/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice "good humaning." It's about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal

Good Humaning: Don't compete with others.

Being fastest is not what it is about. What is it that makes you uniquely creative?

/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal

Good Humaning: Don't shift your burden.

Take responsibility for what is yours.

Don’t transfer your (anxiety, frustration, competitiveness, need for approval, etc.) to someone else.

/This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice “good humaning.” It’s about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal

Good Humaning: Grace under pressure means...

When I'm overwhelmed, I need to eject my consciousness. How I think, particularly under pressure, matters. Too often, feelings create an unnecessary distraction from developing a feel for my work.When I'm...

• behind on rebuilding my blog

• behind on writing articles to get published

• overwhelmed by my website and its needs

• underwater with my publishing projects

• strategizing new ways to increase my business

and I want to do them all at the same time, of course, I need to hone in on my core strengths:

• Determination. Learn what to let go of--and it's likely my anxiety. The more concrete it feels, the less real it is.

• Familiarization. Practice the opening and letting go of my mind all the time so that I integrate the idea that all things pass, all things come to a natural end.

• Plant seeds. Know that I have the innate ability to let go of my anxiety and feel compassion for myself and others.

• Tend weeds. Realize that the identity I form with self-reproach and anxiety limits my perspective, and to not succumb to the desire of keeping it from falling apart. Trying to "keep it all together" wasn't working.

• Aspiration. When things fall apart, when situations find their natural ending, when on the cusp of a new chapter--position myself to be with those who can teach me the most so that I can do my best service.

This is the only way I can process feelings in my work so that I can get back to developing a feel for it./This post-series is about trying to anchor my experience by exploring within and reminding myself about what it means to practice "good humaning." It's about moving forward imperfectly. To follow this thread in my posts, look for these tags: #NotesFromMyYogaJournal