Am I Distracting Myself or Being Productive?

Am I in Distraction or Productivity? Ahhh what a lovely question!

Well this morning when I woke up foggy (probably because I drank coffee too late in the day yesterday and decided to stay up until 2am watching episodes of a dramatic Turkish Netflix series called ‘Gonul’) I was in no mood to get shit done, although I knew that I really wanted to get shit done. I felt the Shoulds creeping around and peeking in at me from the windows with their hands stretched and fingers ready to point at me at any moment. ‘You SHOULD get shit done you LAZY girl!!’ Focus. Sit down in your chair until we tell you that you have done enough. No pee breaks for you until we say so!’

Those damn SHOULDS!!! I’m tired of you!!!!! This is my life and I want it to be fun!! All of it. Even the ‘getting shit done’ things.

I have to figure out another way to do this I thought. Maybe I should go to yoga? Naaahhhh. Ok, PATH OF LEAST RESISTENCE--- Pinterest. Ya Pinterest. That’s right baby. Give me the good stuff. Show me those pictures like you do. Yeaaaahhh. I like that. MMMM show me those textured walls and those neutral adobe and earthy tones. Ooooo yaaaaa. Keep em coming. Keep em coming. Beige- I don't care what anybody says you are lookin fiiiiinnnne! Ufffffff olive trees. I wanna squeeze those olives so good until that oil is bright green and dripping from my fist. Ya that’s right….

As I started to share my morning Pinterest process on Instagram I realized I was simultaneously going through the Expressive Arts Structure of a session as well. Not only was I starting to feel motivated and inspired, but through Instagram I was simultaneously reflecting on my process and noticing what about Pinterest this morning was working for me.

Here is a summary of what my process looked like...

INTENTION: create inspiration and motivation

FOLLOW CURIOSITY: photography & Mediterranean vibes

EXPLORE & SHARE CURIOSITY: Pinterest & Instagram stories

NOTICE THE CURIOSITIES: Simplicity, neutral colors, growing trees with walls, media, feeling of home

INTEGRATION and Reflection: My ‘distraction’ turned into meaningful ‘work’ and preparation for what is due. Don’t force my way through things that I don’t want to do. Create inspiration first, about anything – related or not! I used my strength of listening to my inner guidance even though it could have looked like a waste of time and it worked for me!

I realized that my experiment for ‘distracting’ myself was useful and It ended up showing me many things about the ways in which I am productive and how important it is for me to feel Inspired to be productive. So often we try to push through. Just to get it done. Force ahead because of timelines and due dates and pressure (both external and internal) and the SHOULDS. But I don’t want to do my life like that. I don’t want to sacrifice my ALIVENESS to just get things done. To check something off the list. Fuck that. It’s about inspired action. Get into the flow first. Get into alignment first. Create a sense of joy or peace or curiosity first and THEN TAKE ACTION. From the outside that action may not look like a big step, but we must trust in our alignment. When we are aligned our thoughts, our emotions, and our actions create huge waves in the invisible web that we live within. Trust in the invisible. Work from the inside out.

There is no CORRECT way we are supposed to do this life. We have to find what works for us. What feels authentic and true. We don’t have to force our way through ANYTHING that doesn’t feel good just because we think we are supposed to. Let’s take the time to listen to our hearts and find our own ways of doing things.