Slowing Down is a Power Move

It began as a gentle pull on my soul which started in February but I ignored it. It continued in March and flowed into April. By May the pull could no longer be ignored. That pull wanted my attention which required my surrender. 

With an exhausted spirit during my prayer time I said, “Ok God. What is it?” 

Over the next several emails I’m going to share a few teachable moments I’ve gain during this POWER MOVE season in hopes that you can also find nuggets to help you go deeper into your own balanced rhythm.

One of the things I’ve been most amazed by is how slowing down brought the things I desired to me. Like they showed up on my path, right there, without me doing the absolute most.

I've learned how to rest but now it was time to learn how to be restored while doing my purpose work. That sounds like an oxymoron right? Restored while doing our purpose! Somebody told us a lie and we believed that we can only fulfill our dreams and purpose by moving in constant exhaustion, being burned out, sacrificing our relationships and pretending to be good when we are not.

 Well let’s talk about it.

 If this email series resonates with you, HIT REPLY and let me know. I want to hear your story, your thoughts and how these messages encourage you.

 #maventalk 1: Slowing down is a power move!

 Chile let me say that again in case someone didn’t read it. Slowing down is a power move!

The flow of the world right now tells us to be on 10, go, go and go some more, to turn up, to flex, do it for the culture. Tuh! Sometimes we gotta sit down somewhere!

One of the “stories that I tell myself” is that I’m mostly valued by my work. Most people that are “executors” battle with this because we are so focused on results that we can slide into personal valuation this way. If we are not DOING then we have no value.

If I’m not doing, then what am I doing? Does that make sense? Have you ever felt that way?

Well my time was up and I had to get the lesson.

Although terrified, I took the POWER MOVE. More like kicking and screaming...the POWER MOVE TOOK ME! lol Now look…when I tell you I was a mess! I was a mess. I felt like a baby giraffe trying to find her legs. Jesus what are we doing?!

Honestly, there weren’t any instructions other than to take the POWER MOVE.

Funny thing, or not really, after 1 week I was like OK! I'm ready to BAM again with more balance now! LOL not. I just wanted the lesson to be quick so I could get on back to my BAM. Have you ever tried to "hurry God"? He's kinda unbothered I discovered. lol

Creating a more balanced rhythm was what my pull was about. Are you paying attention to your pull?

Understand that going from BAM to listening deeper felt like I was being lazy and useless and losing my mind a bit.

 I think we are yearning, even silently begging for this balance or simplicity in our lives. Fear tells us we can’t slow down so this POWER MOVE is off the table. If we slow down bad shit will happen. People will notice. We won’t be successful. We won’t hit our financial goals. Dang! What tha what are we doing!

 For the record, when I slowed down no one really noticed (mainly because I didn’t make a social media announcement about it…cuz why would I do that? Attention? No thanks). The world kept spinning and I dug deeper for clarity on my goals. I made more time for personal development, some one-on-one power lunches and created intentional connections that blew me away! 

 I don’t believe that our success can only come if we burn ourselves out, sacrifice our health, offer up our good relationships for false connections and fear that supporting others will delay our growth.

 I don’t want success that way. If fact, I won’t accept it. 

 My POWER MOVE made me stronger!

 So what am I learning from this POWER MOVE:

1. I’m learning to go deeper into my morning quiet time/prayer time by listening more and making fewer request. We’ve got to trust the good inside of us and not feel compelled to ALWAYS run to others, social media, gurus etc. for everything. Prayer is truly a two-way communication. After we do all that asking, you must get still long enough (POWER MOVE) to hear the answers so that we do make the right connections, the right moves, etc?
2. I included morning (and some evening) stretching and yoga poses. This was another way for me to slow down and not make a quick request and go run off. Know that self-care is not a waste of time. What does self-care look like for you? Only you will know what works for you. Do it for yourself Maven!
3. I’m learning to lean in on my faith more. I’m learning that the bigger the dream -- the more I’ve got to lean in. Yeah, it’s scary and we mess it at times (with more of that to come) but that’s part of the journey. If we are going to dream boldly we must be willing to believe boldly! We can do this!

Something key for you to also recognize is what season you are in. Everyone is not in a POWER MOVE – slow down season. Know your flow and rock your season Maven!

 That’s it for #maventalk 1 – The POWER MOVE! Remember, I’ll be sharing a few more nuggets about going deeper into creating a more balanced rhythm and I'm honored that you will come along for the learning. Power Move #2 is about MINDFULNESS and Power Move #3 speaks about PAUSE OR PIVOT.

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