Aligned choices Archives - Cara Lumen

I was burned out, tired, overwhelmed. I needed some time off I found a way to pay hooky and still accomplish a few things.

Know when you need a break

We get used to pushing through, doing the work, not quitting – until one day we really, really, really need to take a break. We need to pause and reflect. We need to change the rhythm of our days. We need to goof off. Don’t wait until you reach crisis mode. To keep yourself productive and happy and heathy, learn to play hooky on a regular basis.

Give yourself permission to take time off

First you have to make it OK to play hooky. I was resisting what I needed to do next. I was procrastinating. I had been learning new technical things for eight months. Then I switched from a PC to a Mac and everything I knew how to do needed more adjustment. It was great, actually, because I got to rethink my working style and the order of my projects. And the new platform streamlined my work. But one day when I really resisted learning a new program, I figured I needed a real break – a healing, restorative pause in the flow of my days.

Figure out what would bring you joy

Figuring out what to do when I played hooky turned out to be tremendously hard. I love what I do. I’m eager to learn those new programs But I truly needed some time off. I made a mind map with the word “pause” in the center and surrounded it with words like “fun, satisfaction, goof off, play.” I got nothing. Not one idea showed up. I’m into letting my life unfold so across the top I wrote ‘Unfold”. I could just declare a period of time to be “do what I want to” time and see what show sup.

Celebrate that you are indeed free to do what you choose

Playing hooky is as simple as declaring that you are going to let things unfold for the next few hours or days. Then you start listening to wha your body says you need. Take a nap, fall asleep in your chair go to bed early, read the book you’ve been putting off, watch the movie you missed, go for a walk, call up a friend. Or sit around and draw mind-maps to figure out your life. Just listen. Feel. Observe. Respond. Give yourself permission to pause, to take a deep breath, to tune into your needs and wants. You can take a mental vacation for any amount of time, at any time you wish. Give yourself permission to take a break.

Replenish means something is missing

The most helpful idea that showed up in my search to rebalance is that if you need to restore or replenish something, it means something is missing, your life is out of balance, there is some repair work to be done. Besides sitting around waiting for my goof off ideas to show up, I started looking for what is missing.

Float like a leaf

I allowed myself to be moved by the current of the day. There were things on my list like record a podcast, make a video and finish several courses. Because of my computer switch, all of those projects required me to learn a new program. That didn’t feel like down time. So I tuned in and didn’t do anything that I wan’t in the mood for. It turns out I was looking for a little more control, so I spent some time organizing the files I had moved over from m PC. In the process, I took time to make some core decisions on how I want to change how I do things. Those decisions made my next steps clearer and more attainable. It also gave me a feeling of being tucked in, safe, secure, standing on a firm foundation.

Shift some priorities

I’m the one who makes up my schedule. Now that I’ve added podcasts and videos, perhaps I need to shift to one blog post a week instead of two In this pause you are taking, go back to the core reason you are doing anything, and notice how circumstances have shifted. What do you need to change? What do you need to let go or designate? How have YOU changed and what do you need now?

Look at what is ahead and put it in perspective

Because I allow my life to unfold, there are no due dates on any projects. In former times, I would have made certain I launched during particular times of the year. Now I know that when it’s ready, it’s ready and the people who want the information will find it. Even though I have three courses and a new coaching model in mid, when I allow myself to work on each of them when the feeling is right, both the project and I will be better for that choice.

What did you accomplish when you played hooky?

I organized my files, I reorganized some priorities, I made some decisions about what to add or subtract to my shield. I tuned in to what was missing, listened to what I wanted, and designed some new choices to make that happen That’s a lot to achieve from a day or two of paying hooky.

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:

04–How to Redefine Yourself and the 30 year Plan (podcast, 20 minutes)

06– Unfolding And The Art Of Wu Wei (podcast, 20 minutes)

Your Work as You‎

How Not to Make Plans

If I choose Simplicity, What Will That Look Like?
‎
Decision as a Dream Carrier

Are You Reading the Signs?

Are You Hiding Out in Your Comfort Zone

Dreams often need to change when your circumstances change. Whether it is graduating from school, getting married, starting la job, having children or getting old, there are major moments when we need to re-evaluate and reformulate our dream.

I’m old, so part of my dream has been changed for me. But I still get to vote on what I choose to do. I still have a lot of years in which to make a difference. I know it’s time to change my dreams – but what dream do I want to have? What vision do I want to hold?

Is any dream impossible?

In one sense everything is possible. On the other hand, maybe you’re not the one to make it happen. A young woman I know loves to ride and show Tennessee Walking Horses. She wants to do that more than anything else. She is modestly successful at it. The reality check is that it costs money to maintain a horse, there are not many job as trainers and mot of those are men. The list can get pretty daunting. I asked her if she had taken any business courses. She had taken stable management. I asked her if there was anything related to the field she could consider. She had tried equine photography but said that was hard to do. We kept looking for alternatives but there didn’t seem to be any other choice she was interested in considering.

So my question is, when do we take a hard look at the feasibility of our dream and make some adjustments? Or do we hold tight to what we really want?

Work with what shows up

I live in a world of entrepreneurs. It seems like we are always adjusting, modifying, and coming up with an alternate version of our dream. So meeting someone who was aiming for a very limited target goal, who has good skills, but a quiet personality that may make it difficult for her to promote herself, made me wonder how you know when it is time to shift your vision and how you do that.

You certainly have heard some successful people say they never imagined they would be where they were today. Is that because they are really good, or that the persevered? Or that they were just lucky? I have no idea.

Your passion has many forms

Is passionate self-expression the bottom line? Your joy and success and outstanding results are simply a measure of how fully you express your deepest yearning. Good grief. How do you do that? Will simply staying focused on a dream make it happen, or do you need to go exploring and be willing to change?

A country music singer who won best new artist spent a year playing anyplace he could to get his music heard. Singers on The Voice have been playing wherever they could for years. When your passion is deeply imbedded, you keep working to share it. The more specific your passion, the tricker it is to accommodate. Being a chess champion is very specific. Playing a lot of chess, less so. Teaching others to play chess is a way to be in serve while being involved with the work you love.

What id your dream? Does it still fit? How do you nee to change it?

How do you shop for a new dream?

What if circumstances say you need to alter your dream? It may be a physical accomplishment that you can no longer achieve. It may be a promotion that is simply not going to happen. Or it may be a need to express something important to you that you have put on the back burner because of other responsibilities and choices. How to you formulate a new dram?

Start by looking around you. There are signs and signals everywhere. Notice what interests you and go exploring. A recent series of explorations seemed to take me further away from my goal to create some classes until I ultimately discovered how much I like doing talking head video. It is a perfect medium for me. I have two degrees in theater, I’ve acted and I’ve done television work. It is an idea choice. When that piece fell in place my whole body of work took on a new potential. My dream changed. My expectations expanded. Go exploring and uncover the knowledge and techniques that best resonate with your soul.

What have you created so far?

All the circumstances that are present in your life are there beefcake of wha you’ve been doing. If there is something you don’t like, change your beliefs and habits that surrounds that. If something is really working, do more of what helped attract that.

What is missing in your life?

A key ingredient to a satisfying life is a feeing of relevance. What are you doing that makes you feel useful? What kind of impact are you having? Feeling valuable, knowing you have contributed are places to begin looking for what is missing in your life.

What gifts do you want to offer?

I love to explore and share what I discover. One of my gifts is the ability to see the overview and explain what I figure out to others. I’ve been doing that for a good many years. Now my dream is to expand to new platforms. I have a podcast. I’m learning to do videos which will enhance the courses I am planning. How can you offer your gift in a new format that will expand your reach? What aspect of your gift can you offer next?

When is it time to change your dream?

Begin with the search. The search is the way you become ready to make a choice. When you are ready you will know in an instant that it is time to change. As your explore your dream, take a reality check to see if your dream is possible, or if it is time to alter your dream a bit. Continue to explore and make choices that are aligned with your personal rhythm. When the time is right, the shift will simple occur.

You change, your skills change, your possibilities change

When you are ready, the next right opportunity shows up. I finally learned to make a video and enormous possibilities were suddenly available to me. I moved and my Content Development Coaching business went away as I repaired my aging body. Then a new, much more rewarding direction evolved in the form of the Deeper Song Community. When do you give up? When do you go exploring? When do your move on to something new?

Is it time to change your dream?
To Sing a Deeper Song consider:

04–How to Redefine Yourself and the 30 year Plan (podcast, 20 minutes)

11-Do You Need a New Tribe? (podcast, 20 minutes)

05-Do You Have the Courage to Stand Alone (podcast, 20 minutes)

Take Money Out of the Equation

Are You Reading the Signs?

Why You Need To Learn to Change

if I Were a Person Who…

Do You Know How Much You Have Going For You?