At the end of January, I started writing a book. I signed up for Donna Kozik's Write a Book in a Weekend. I didn't finish my book that weekend, but within the next two weeks I probably finished about 2/3 of the book. Then I got stuck ...
Over the weeks, I decided that I probably just needed to start over. And believe me, I wasn't looking forward to that prospect!
But I just went back and reread what I've already written, and it's not bad! I feel like I can probably even finish it. I've even made a commitment to my business coach that I'd lay out a plan and have it done in May.
Now, I've never written a book before, so this is an entirely new experience. New experiences definitely get my caveman brain going! It's been judging my writing as being bad, and it's been making the job seem insurmountable (especially if I had to start over).
Yet even though I know my caveman brain inside and out, and I know it often doesn't reflect the truth of a situation, I've been listening to it! I even know that perfectionism and struggle are some of the top symptoms for the way my caveman brain works, and I've fallen for it again!
I'm not going to beat myself up over it, though. I know that I'll always have my caveman brain and that in this instance, it's just trying to protect me from feelings of rejection, ridicule and failure. And that's okay ...
But I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to let my caveman brain tell me what to do. I'm going to get back on the horse and get back to my book.
And I'm not going to worry about how long it is or which format and size it should be, because that's where my caveman brain also wants to go. It wants to distract me with the details. But I know that I just need to take it step-by-step, putting one word in front of another until its done. Then, and ONLY then, do I need to move to those logistics.
So here I go! I'm off to write a fabulous book about the caveman brain!
Showing posts with label caveman brain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label caveman brain. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Really?!? I'm feeling overwhelmed? Today?!?
Yep. Just a day after doing the blog on feeling overwhelmed, and it comes knocking on my door! Thank you, Universe! I get to practice what I preach.
Why the overwhelm? Well, I just agreed to go to the waterpark this afternoon with some family friends. I feel like I "should" stay at home and work on my website; that nasty rules and obligations trap!
The truth is that I've been working like a maniac on my business, getting ready for my TV Life Coaching segment debut on Thursday. Yes, there is more that I could do, but there's always more that can be done. Going and having fun for the evening is not going to hurt anything.
As a matter of fact it'll take my mind off the big day, and that's a good thing.
So if I switch the word overwhelm to powerless, I'm feeling powerless. But I'm not willing to give my power away to the waterpark. It's ridiculous to feel powerless, because I'm choosing to have some fun with my daughter and friends.
But it's not so ridiculous if I'm displacing the feeling. Maybe the feeling is just coming out, and the waterpark decision doesn't really have anything to do with it. I'm really feeling powerless about the whole TV event. I can't control what questions the new anchors ask me. I can't control how well the segment is received by viewers. I can't control whether the producer likes me enough to keep me around. When I don't have control, I don't feel like I have power.
It seems logical -- of course a person feels more powerful when he or she is in control! But I'm talking about personal power here, and NOTHING can change that. No matter what happens in that TV studio, I'm still me. I don't need to give my power away to the anchors, audience or producer. I only have to be me and do my best. I can always rely on my perfect self to be there, with all my gifts, talents, intelligence, creativity and skills. My perfect self always goes with the flow and comes out unscathed.
So what about this feeling of being powerless? It's just a feeling; it's not the truth. And as much as I'm willing to feel that emotion, I'm not willing to let it (or my caveman brain) run my life. I'm going to feel it, but not react from it. I'm going to keep my power, thank you -- and just do my work during the day and have fun swimming tonight!
Why the overwhelm? Well, I just agreed to go to the waterpark this afternoon with some family friends. I feel like I "should" stay at home and work on my website; that nasty rules and obligations trap!
The truth is that I've been working like a maniac on my business, getting ready for my TV Life Coaching segment debut on Thursday. Yes, there is more that I could do, but there's always more that can be done. Going and having fun for the evening is not going to hurt anything.
As a matter of fact it'll take my mind off the big day, and that's a good thing.
So if I switch the word overwhelm to powerless, I'm feeling powerless. But I'm not willing to give my power away to the waterpark. It's ridiculous to feel powerless, because I'm choosing to have some fun with my daughter and friends.
But it's not so ridiculous if I'm displacing the feeling. Maybe the feeling is just coming out, and the waterpark decision doesn't really have anything to do with it. I'm really feeling powerless about the whole TV event. I can't control what questions the new anchors ask me. I can't control how well the segment is received by viewers. I can't control whether the producer likes me enough to keep me around. When I don't have control, I don't feel like I have power.
It seems logical -- of course a person feels more powerful when he or she is in control! But I'm talking about personal power here, and NOTHING can change that. No matter what happens in that TV studio, I'm still me. I don't need to give my power away to the anchors, audience or producer. I only have to be me and do my best. I can always rely on my perfect self to be there, with all my gifts, talents, intelligence, creativity and skills. My perfect self always goes with the flow and comes out unscathed.
So what about this feeling of being powerless? It's just a feeling; it's not the truth. And as much as I'm willing to feel that emotion, I'm not willing to let it (or my caveman brain) run my life. I'm going to feel it, but not react from it. I'm going to keep my power, thank you -- and just do my work during the day and have fun swimming tonight!
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