What Are You About? The Power of Staying in Your Center.
Here's a question for you: Do you sometimes get pulled out of your center by internal or external distractions?
Maybe you get an "emergency" phone call from someone who NEEDS SOMETHING NOW (only it’s not really an emergency, it’s their own drama or lack of planning!). Maybe it's a fear-mongering news report that tickles the self-preservation instinct and sends us off-kilter (even though we know that stories that blame entire groups of people are rarely true).
Tipping out of our center can even be caused by love—like caretaking someone beyond the point where it is good for us. While it's nice to be accommodating and flexible, this kind of “pleasing” behavior often has a shadow side. Pleasing is sometimes not a conscious or active choice, but a learned habit of trying to stay safe or get a reward.
I've found that getting clear (and staying clear) on what I'm about changes all of that. When I cultivate clarity, I can direct my attention, time, and actions in a more focused way—and keep my heart and mood steady. Broadly, to stand in what we’re about diminishes our susceptibility to other people’s dramas, the political climate, and the distractions of the moment. This clarity helps us move through the world with less friction. It increases synchronicity, enables us to resolve conflicts with ease, and helps us capture the important ideas floating in the ether around us. Clarity makes us a better channel, and a better instrument of change.
Then, when the person with the “emergency” calls with their personal drama, you might say, “I’m not about that, but here are some resources I can point you to. I’m sorry I can’t help you right now.” Then remind yourself: “Right now, I’m about this, over here.” Don't let the drama person hijack your day or diminish your energy field. Or if you’re on a deadline for something, and a new idea arises, you put the new idea in a parking lot, saying, “I’m not about that right now. I’m about this today.” If the news starts blaring some new racial or political blamefest, you say “I’m not about fear right now—I’m about gratitude, openness, unity, and action for justice (or whatever you're about).”
How do you know when you’re authentically in your center? Some signposts: flow, joy, happiness, alignment! You know what you’re about when things feel good in your body. When you lose the sense of self-consciousness. When you don’t have to pretend anything. Even when we are doing hard or serious work, we can let our felt experiences of happiness and joy guide our choices. Knowing and living from what we're about is a fundamental form of self-respect, maybe even self-love.
Come on over to our Facebook page and let us know: What are you about, and how would you like to be supported? Or write to us! We're featuring stories about the women in our Ambassador community, and in our community at large. We’d love to hear from you. Share what you're up to with us!
Have a beautiful day, being powerfully you.
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