simple shui | how i lost my way

hello, HELLO, my shui starlets!

twenty-eighteen has been brimming with all the mixed feelings – anyone else feeling a little turned inside out from the last twelve months?

confession: so many things went completely sideways here at simple shui, and by the end of October, i fell face first into a funk obsessing over the crazy cool opportunities that presented this year and then evaporated without explanation. and for the first time, i took an impulsive but deliberate pause…from social media, consulting, and all other aspects of work.

i was beyond exhausted from launching a new site + 2 more workbooks, saying YES to every speaking gig, delivering content for article requests, traveling, leaving very few questions unanswered, coordinating the road tour logistics…never mind having a personal life.

the good news about impoverished energy? if we pay attention, it is a gift to catch our breath. look up. figure out where we really are rather than where we think we are headed because sometimes we’ve veered off course. and while i gathered myself back to whole, i had an a-ha of how my personal power + boundaries had been ambushed by me.

another confession: i spend so much effort avoiding rejection and working to please others that it eventually manifested as – big surprise! – self-doubt and rejection in my business. so, i am working to reconcile the inconsistencies i hold about work, money, and success – and realizing that settling for “maybes” instead of allowing NOs is really me negotiating my worth. and just like that, my fear is now in the spotlight.

it’s too easy to see social media optics and assume everyone is living at next level extra all the time. and once that thought starts, it has its own thoughts about their success. more so, our (perceived) lack of “it” becomes the neon sign that never shuts off.

last confession: i am constantly figuring “it” out in real time. and behind every success is a pile of failures. however, i am choosing to see that pile differently these days – instead of a lost opportunity, these are glimpses of what is already in motion for me!

with my fear out in the open, i feel like a new CEO coming on board – everything is up for review and it’s time for improved ways of being in this space of service and shui. all those details will be coming in the new year, but for now, i am SO grateful to finally finally move forward again.

what i know for sure: any deliberate choice that boosts your lovely life force is always chart-topping shui, so if you are combat crawling into the final hours of twenty-eighteen and want to cha-cha-cha into the new year, here are the Qs + practices i’ve been working the last 6 weeks that helped me fall back into cooperation with my shui-sational self:

1. note all the moments where you feel satisfied. this is different than being happy or high on life. my list began with watching a good documentary, that first cup of coffee, hearing the lovelies belly laugh, getting into bed at night… satisfied is more accessible because it is easier to hold onto, and access is all you need to tap back into your power.
2. get clear about things you won’t do anymore. audit your triggers, decide how you could respond in those situations that would feel better, and then be deliberate with it. once you start, you will wonder why you didn’t sooner!
3. make a list of 3 things you LOVE about yourself every day – don’t skip a day until twenty-nineteen is ringing her bells! (BONUS POINTS for sharing this tip with someone else!)
4. appreciate what you have created – this can be your house +/or space you LOVE; it might be the community you thrive among; perhaps the kids are your proudest creation; or you have a trail of good work you’re birthing into the world. give it all a really long stare + a smile, and let its fruition fill you up with hope. you’ve mastered creation once, which means you will again!
5. finally, this. this spoke to me and changed my everything. because radical responsibility is the name of 2019’s game. thank you, thank you, thank you, tatianna!

you might be thinking – hey, wait! there wasn’t any shui on this list – and you’d be close to right expect the shui is already happening. and here’s why: shui is the lifestyle practice so that in our moments of need, our home/space is there to gather our fractured pieces and put us back together, hold us until we are steady again on our feet, and resuscitate our life force with its drenched-in-LOVE energy. remember, it’s a reciprocal relationship. do your part a little every day, and your house will be the place where you can unravel your vulnerabilities and triage back to good.

xo