THE HIGH VIBES LOUNGE PRESENTS: SEASON 1, EPISODE 1

LIVE LIFE LIKE YOUR JOB

CHRONICLES

BY: MONICA H.

It’s a running joke that my life has been a reality show of a Lifetime movie. The experiences, plot twists, and events often seem unreal and crazy, even for me. So, that’s how I’m titling these notes, as part of my ongoing narration of my reality show called life.

This seems to be a good point to start – I am in the process of ending one season of my life, and about to begin a new one. And that’s where I want to share some insight.
There has been SO much growth that has gotten me to this point in my journey, and honestly ladies, I struggle to recall a moment when I could say it was easy.

There were some good/happy/uplifting moments, but I would not describe them as easy. But, looking back at what I’ve been through, the lessons I’ve learned, and what I have gained from it – I would not trade it for an easy path – because then I wouldn’t be the woman I am now. I’ve gained confidence, a voice, strength, courage, endurance, clarity, a respect for my intuition, and I have found the ability to trust in something higher than myself rather than rely on my own vision/ability – which honestly has been a relief because my track record sucks!

But today, I really feel like I need to share something that I believe every woman, at some point, struggles with – no matter her relationship/life/age/economic status, etc. Like I mentioned before, I’m in a transition moment - a very LARGE transition moment – and if I made a list of all the things I need to be doing at this moment (dryer buzzer just went off), it would probably roll down the block and around the corner! My brain is constantly going a mile a minute about something else that needs to be added or edited, the deadlines are ticking closer, the kids are having a meltdown, emails are pinging, and somewhere in the middle of this I need to shave my legs and get more than 4 hours of sleep!

And if you had talked to me a couple of months ago, I would have said that is why coffee was invented and I would have just pushed myself to the point of collapse, because if I don’t get it done, then no one will, and then the whole world will unravel into a big sloppy mess and it will be all my fault because I didn’t complete my list and pluck my eyebrows! BUT, I have learned a more productive way of getting things done, and I would like to share my insight with you….ready?.....take a break. Now just a moment, I heard that!, I heard you laugh and say whatever…. I get it.

How is taking a break going to get things done, that’s just going to delay everything, waist time, make your list longer, and honestly you couldn’t take a break if you wanted to because you would just be reciting in your mind all the things you should be doing at that moment instead. I know, I know. For the fun of it, just humor me a moment and let me give you an example.

Growing up I had a favorite pair of socks that I wanted to wear all the time, and I would wear them high just below my knees (ouch, that probably dates how old I am), but anyway, the elastic would stretch out throughout the day because I would be pulling them back into place all day. By the time I took them off, they would usually be around my ankles, and then I would wash them every night and dry them so they would be tight again and ready for another day of abuse. But, if for some reason I forgot to wash them, then I couldn’t wear them and I would be upset and irritated.

Now, we are better than socks, but if we don’t take care of ourselves and allow ourselves to ‘bounce back’ overnight, or even throughout the day, then we are going to be wore out, slouchy, probably stinky (at least our attitude will be), and less productive than what we could be.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it is very hard to hit the pause button and take a break, especially when everyone and everything is urgent and demanding. But, I’m not talking about taking a 2 hour nap, or hopping a plane to an island. It can honestly be as simple as spending 2 extra minutes in the bathroom stall at work and imagining yourself on that island, or sitting on your front porch for 5 minutes while dinner is baking, or putting your earbuds in while your in the carline and pretending that your on a call while you listen to whatever else helps calm your soul.

Trust me when I say – when you pause in the midst of your storm/responsibilities/chaos – and take a moment to breathe, reconnect with the thing that calms your spirit, and put the focus back on YOU – even for a couple of moments – it WILL renew you, reenergize you, regain your focus, and ground you in the midst of everything.

I know it sounds crazy, counterproductive, and probably too dangerous to try, but….if you’re like how I was, everything is unraveling anyway and falling apart, and running on fumes, anger, depression and chaos wasn’t making my list any shorter – so why not try it?

Now, all the other pieces that go along with it – breathing, learning how to calm your mind while your sitting on your porch for 5 minutes, and getting over the guilt of spending 5 minutes on yourself – I’ll get to all that later.

But for now, think about the people you love the most and how you want to show up for them, the legacy you want to leave for them, and what they deserve in life. Once you have those thoughts in mind, hold onto them….because guess what….all of that starts with you.

The love you give them has to come from you first, showing up for them means you have to show up for yourself first, the legacy you leave them will be the generational trauma cycles that you end with you, and what they deserve to have in their lives is what you deserve as well.

Again, if you are like me, that just triggered a whole mess of things inside you, and if it did – good! That means you have awareness and you have a voice inside you that is screaming to be heard.

Your life is not lost, you are not lost, and you are not alone.

We are in this together, and if you bring the popcorn, you can grab a seat and join me on my reality Lifetime version of my life and I will share all of my lessons and thoughts with you!