When we go against our natural rhythm, it can lead to exhaustion, anxiety, and overwhelm among other things. Learn how and why to allow yourself to rest, pause, and do less, so that you can have more energy, feel happier, and feel more like yourself. If you’re HSP (a Highly Sensitive Person), you may have a biological reason for needing more rest and downtime. Gain knowledge I use in life coaching to help people know and honor what pace works for them.

All of this isolation time has really helped me, for the first time in my life, begin to really discover what my natural rhythm and pace is. And this is coming from someone who’s also spent years tracking my cycle! Including energy levels, emotions, and my mental state. Even with all that cycle tracking work, it was nearly impossible in our culture to ever really know what my natural rhythm was. Our culture is addicted to doing. We’re addicted to more. Just more in general, whatever it is. “Bigger, better, faster,” right?

But we forget that without the pause, there is no play. There’s just a never ending loop of action.

It has been incredibly refreshing to be able to feel what’s enough and what’s too much. It’s been empowering, and emboldening even, to say “No” to more. 

I’ve noticed this come up for me in saying no to more courses and programs. One thing I love about being a coach is that I get to continue learning in new areas or deepening in current areas of study. I love learning so much! And there are probably literally more than a million courses, programs, or books I could take, participate in, or study. But what I realized was that with the two that I’m currently working on, if I let myself really go deep with them, there was so much already there. SO much! And so I said a big “F you” to the conditioning of our culture that really inspires the thoughts of, “you should do more. You can do more, so why don’t you do more?” That “F you” is feeling really really good.

Just because we can, doesn't mean it’s helpful for us.

Especially as a woman, there’s A LOT we're capable of. But that doesn’t mean it’s helpful or healthy to do all those things. Also if you're someone like me, who experiences life and emotions deeply, your natural pace and rhythm may be WAY different from what our western culture projects as "natural". We've gotten soooo far from natural. A lot of people think we're all capable of relatively the same output. When in fact, there's actually a small percentage of our population - about 20% - who are biologically wired with a more sensitive nervous system, where what's a little output for one person... the exact same thing may be a lot of output for someone with a more sensitive nervous system. The term for this is HSP, or Highly Sensitive Person. I share a little bit more about this here, in this 3-minute video:

So for someone who is more sensitive in this way, honoring your natural pace and rhythm is even more important. And you may have spent a lot of your life ignoring, fighting against, or having to justify what is natural for you and what you're needs are... So what might it look like for you to honor your natural pace and rhythm a little bit more? I hope that this inspires for you some permission to explore what kind of pace and rhythm feels good for you, and maybe even to give yourself the gift of doing less. There is so so much available for us, but when we try to do it all, we end up missing some of the juiciest bits that can come from really giving someone or something your full attention. 

Bonus - Doing less also forces us to get clear on what’s most deserving of our valuable time and energy.

For a more in depth look around the science of why things might feel more overwhelming to you, check out my article on the Zone of Optimal Arousal.

And if you want to chat 1:1 about being sensitive AND thriving in a world that might not cater to that, book a time to chat here. You’ll learn more about what life coaching is and see if it’s a good fit for you, as well as receive immediate support and guidance on that call itself. What have you got to lose besides maybe some confusion and overwhelm?

Sending you so much love and ease on your journey.

Xoxo,

Angie

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