Perspective

How we hold things is often how we experience things.

When we hold things as "obligations," often they feel like obligations. When we hold things as "hard," often they feel hard. Many times, we can shift our experiences by shifting the way we hold things.

A project I once led had a big project management component - we're talking spreadsheets, project management software, multiple budgets, proposals - all the stuff we think of when we think of project management. There's a part of me that holds this work VERY intensely and wants to turn everything on the project plan green - like, right now. And, unsurprisingly, when I hold the work in this way, it feels incredibly intense. While intensity can be good, it's unsustainable for 6 straight months (the length of this project). As a result, I practiced holding the work as incredibly *important* and incredibly *impactful* but in way that felt lighter and more easeful. When I do, the work feels lighter and more easeful....and it's way more fun.

Another example is training for a big race. I often catch myself viewing my training as an obligation. Once again, unsurprisingly, when I hold the training in this way, it feels like an obligation. I like to practice holding it as a privilege - that I have a body that allows me to move, and that I have a schedule that allows me to get outside in the middle of the day (if I'm organized enough to do so). Whenever I hold my training this way, it not only feels like a privilege, but I am able to fully enjoy the ducks and the beavers and the squirrels and the birds that I encounter along the way.

What do you think? Are there any things in your life that you're holding in a way that doesn't serve you? And, what might it look like to hold these things differently?