With life and social media pressures—the constant bombardment of images, texts, videos and messages we can call ‘waves’ that disrupt our inner stillness—it can be hard to remember what our priorities and our goals are; what our focus is. Humans are so easily distracted.
A marketing strategist recently said that it is only when we focus that we accomplish. If we don’t do this, people can’t figure out what we’re about, what our ‘product’ is.
In moments when I feel torn between doing one activity versus another, I take a step back and ask myself what my goals are, what I really want. I don’t ask what I want in the short-term—or what so-and-so wants from me—I ask what my long-term goals are, what my life vision is. Then, it all becomes clear again and I remember myself.
Remember Yourself
I like to talk about my Inner Genius and core identity. It is wrapped around all of the experiences and genetic material that formed me. It’s the real me. To remember oneself is like discerning between a real Gucci and a fake. You’ve got to strip away everything that’s not you. The words people speak to, and about, you that are wrong; the false teachings you receive; the imposition of values onto you that are not, and never were, yours; and the ‘leeches’ that will try to—if you let them—drain your life essence. To remember yourself is a subtle process given the waves that bombard us daily.
Here’s an example of what I mean. I looked at my ViewBug profile recently and noticed that it listed 119 Inspiration. I thought to myself, ‘WTF? I must have clicked somewhere along the way which opened the door to going from a handful of inspirational photographs attributed to me to a whopping 119.’ As I looked through the photographs that I was supposedly inspired by, I started remembering which photographs I had actually been inspired by and were genuinely my choices and deleting the fakes. The photographs that genuinely inspired me contain an eternal quality that emits the feeling of calm referred to in this essay.
Behind all of the waves is stillness, that which is eternal
I attended a Greek Orthodox Good Friday service yesterday which reminded me of the eternal. Even though, after lamentations, the bells started ringing, people started chanting and hope started to rise—the worst was over, Christ was beginning to ascend out of the mire, out of the death pit—I nonetheless felt this calm envelop the body of believers. It was just a feeling, but what a powerful feeling it was.
I would describe this feeling as something that made all the distractions melt away. I knew without a doubt that everything would be alright—not only for Christ, but for myself.
If I am able to maintain this calm, grounding feeling within me at all times, then I will be able to feel less anxious, be calmer and better focus.
May you be able to do the same as we,
Take it to the Next Level,
Luba
Image credit: Photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash