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Molly Grace James

A Life Well Lived…

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When Nothing Fits

I know I am not alone in feeling inadequate.  So what do you do when you feel lost, stuck, less than what you wish you could be?

Right now this applies to my work situation, which at times can feel like a representation of my life.

In a quick search for career improvement I found the book The Pathfinder, by Nicholas Lore, which was posted in an article (original here).

This list was super encouraging. I wanted to post it in the hope that someone else might find solace in the fact that a better or ideal career match is possible.

person meditating with animals
How I feel most days. Also, the cat is super cute!

The Benefits of a Career That Fits . . .

  • You enjoy better health, a longer life, more vitality
  • You have enhanced personal and professional relationships and are more fun to be around
  • You’re more successful and more productive
  • You have heightened self-esteem
  • You become a better role model for people of all ages
  • You lead a life that counts
  • You look forward to life
  • You have a deeper, richer, more authentic sense of humor

The Costs . . . . .

  • You would have to control your impulse to constantly remind your friends how much you enjoy your career
  • You would lose some of your best reasons to complain
  • People will talk behind your back
  • You will not be a member of the biggest, most popular club
  • It takes more heart, more energy, and more commitment
  • You would have to exchange comfort for vitality

That last one is still sinking in. I am accustomed to a certain lifestyle and perhaps with that comes corresponding expectations. It is such a privilege to even have the time, the resources to want more from a place of already having so much. My needs are met in the most fundamental (and beyond) sense.

So what do I want? Clarity.

And you can’t put a price tag on that.

 

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valentines

Keeping it simple on this day of love.

This was designed with my partner and love Matthew Wade in mind, hence the two connected hearts.

This is quick redesign made in Sketch, which is primarily a prototyping tool used to make screens for website design.

I use it for work and in my spare time use it to create fun side projects (as part of my goal to create and journal daily).

I am really loving the font Pacifico right now.

  • Pacifico is an original and fun brush script handwriting font by Vernon Adams which was inspired by the 1950s American surf culture in 2011.
  • It was redrawn by Jacques Le Bailly at Baron von Fonthausen in 2016.
  • It was expanded to Cyrillic by Botjo Nikoltchev and Ani Petrova at Lettersoup in 2017.

Source: Google fonts

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Mood Follows Action

Current mood: tired, yet hopeful.

In feeling tired I should just stay at home and not work towards my fitness goals? That of course depends.

Ultra endurance athlete and dad of four Rich Roll has succinctly said: “Mood follows action.”

Which means reliance on motivation is not what it takes to get up and get going.

Said another way: Don’t think. Do.

If I listened to every desire to hide out in my apartment with my kitten loves I would probably never get to “doing” part that is needed to advance my strength and lifting.

Kitten baby Theo + Matthew
Kitten baby Artemis + Matthew

So what do you do when your brain and body have competing goals?

At the moment I am fortunate to have an extremely goal driven partner who helps bring out the best in my work out sessions. And who motivates me, as in will work out without me if I don’t get moving, to continue down the path of lifting/fitness success.

And I would add once you do then think.

In other words, it is easy to get stuck (at least it is for me) obsessing over every lift and over-analyzing each action. Too much of this and it is unproductive.

It is still helpful to evaluate on a broader level the trends of what went well or what didn’t. And to save the analysis for a coach or someone who can give you a better assessment.

Also, action for the sake of action must be balanced by listening to your body and taking proper rest measures.

Many days I feel exhausted. And perhaps this is a larger trend of the need to fine tune my sleep, nutrition, intensity of workouts.

Again, it is crucial to listen to the needs of your body. This is a bit trickier because of those competing desires. Fortunately resting appropriately is vital to any training program.

This thought reminded me of an Outdoor Magazine article called 8 Principles to Do it Better, by Brad Stulberg, which I found to be tremendously helpful.

Here’s the quick rundown of the principles:

  1. Stress + Rest = Growth
  2. Focus on the Process, Not Results
  3. Stay Humble
  4. Build Your Tribe
  5. Take Small, Consistent Steps to Achieve Big Gains
  6. Be a Minimalist to Be a Maximalist
  7. Make the Hard Thing Easier
  8. Remember to Experience Joy

Fortunately, there is always hope. Hope that improvements will happen. Hope that you will become a stronger, better person. And hope that additional information will continue to help with that process.

As the article mentioned, with respect to the third principle, “Knowledge is always evolving and advancing—if you want to evolve and advance with it, you need to keep an open mind.”

And that, to me, is comforting.

So here’s to advancing!

 

Photo by ivan Torres on Unsplash

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Mindset Matters

Comptrain (the daily Crossfit training guide) sent out an email today with the headline “Resilience: The Success X Factor.”

This excerpt was particularly meaningful:

When situations unravel, resilient people can muddle through, imagining possibilities where others are confounded.

My takeaway from the email was to ask myself the following questions when I’m in a situation I perceive as challenging:

What are the opportunities?

And what are you learning?

Here are some situations I face that make me feel lousy:

  • Had a “bad” interview
  • Not feeling like I am making enough
  • Feeling like I am not advancing career wise
  • A bad workout (meaning not feeling fit enough)
  • Not lifting the weight you want to lift
  • Stressed about driving (this one may take more to resolve 🙂 )

These two questions feel especially helpful with my current job situation. I feel stuck. I feel like a pivot may be necessary and I am not quite sure what that will look like. So instead of feeling helpless and miserable it is encouraging to think of the ways that I can a) see this as an opportunity and b) take some time to think about what I am learning from this situation.

mindset
Source: quora.com

In reality I am very fortunate. I have more than enough money to meet my needs, while being able to contribute in small ways to helping others. I love investing and am able to do so. I have a place to live. I have a car. I have a loving partner. I have my family. I have my friends. I have my two cats. I have a formal education. I have the ability to improve.

So what’s next?

I am not sure, but I know I will be okay. Eventually.

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