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Resist urgency



"May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back."
                                                                                                     -Rilke

I wanted to write a little more about what was underneath the last post.  What I continue to need to hear again and again.  It is the promise to resist urgency.

I feel urgency in my body as a tightening.  It is a tightness in my breath.  It is a tightness in my expression.

I find that my brain can get consumed with uncertainty, comparison, and fear.  It feels like there is a buzzing in my back that scares me into thinking that if I don't get to all of my ideas soon, then I will lose them, fall behind, miss an opportunity, and not be successful.  I know in my heart that this isn't true.  The truth is that the feeling of urgency is fear and it isn't reality.

When I feel the anxiety of uncertainty, I start to cling to my old ways.  I try to gather more information, look to others for validation or opinions, seek distractions.  All of these things keep me busy and also keep me from doing what is really the necessary antidote to fear; step back, listen, accept, and then move forward.

I recently listened to a podcast in which Fabeku, who describes himself as a "business awesomizer," says that we can't let "uncertainty shape what we do in an unhelpful way."  I can't let fear push me into doing what everyone else is doing because it seems safer.  I will end up on a path of detours and restarts.

I hope to "remember the lichen" and remember the river.  Let things flow in a way that feels natural, true, and in their own organic way.


Can you recognize when anxiety and a sense of urgency are driving your decisions?  
What helps you to step back and recognize the truth?

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