Nature & Wellbeing Meditations Blog
As I made my way in a wide circle out around mushroom rock in the direction of Mavericks the enormous man eating waves were coming at me from every angle. Still I struggled onward. There were massive explosions of surf all around me. My head was below the water more than it was above, even when i was still upright!! It seemed as if Poseiden himself were rising from the depths and trying to skewer me with his trident.
Have you ever feel a sense of discomfort when trying something new? We've all been there. It can be disconcerting to try new things or to not know how and to risk failure or simply not being proficient. Especially if we will be witnessed in our fallibility or knowledge/skill gap. Who wants to be confronted with a perceived lack?
What I realized is, there was a fear or a sense of dread and discomfort I was creating as a way of protecting myself from feeling things I didn’t want to feel.
By identifying and addressing your self-sabotaging behaviors, you can start to make meaningful changes in your life, overcoming the fears and doubts that hold you back.
It can take patience and practice. If you notice yourself slipping back into old patterns, celebrate the fact that you are noticing and recommit to your growth.
When faced with a daunting task or an unfamiliar situation, our brain may perceive it as a threat, triggering the amygdala to send out distress signals. This can lead to a surge of adrenaline and cortisol, preparing the body for danger. However, when the perceived threat is a challenging project at work, a public speaking engagement, or a difficult conversation, this response can be counterproductive, leading to inaction and avoidance.
So often we are sent the messages that it’s not ok to feel uncomfortable feelings. Looking on social media for example, when we compare ourselves to others, it's easy to assume we should always be feeling happy, excited and have it all together. That sends the message that if you aren’t feeling amazing, you are not ok.
What if we could make room for all our feelings, including anxiety? What if we didn’t have to push it away or make it wrong but we also did not have to let our anxiety control us? What might be possible?
In the pursuit of personal and professional growth, we often encounter periods of doubt, insecurity, and even regression. These moments, which can feel like significant setbacks, are actually a natural and essential part of the growth process. Embracing the struggle and understanding how contraction fuels growth can transform our perspective, helping us navigate these challenging times with resilience and confidence.
What if embracing your imperfections could be the key to unlocking a more fulfilling life? Join Gregg Berman on a heartfelt exploration of self-discovery and authenticity as he tackles the deeply relatable struggles of anxiety, self-doubt, and limiting beliefs. Gregg shares his personal journey, from his ADHD diagnosis to navigating the daunting challenge of decision paralysis. Through candid stories and thoughtful reflections, he underscores the importance of self-compassion and mindfulness in overcoming inner fears and embracing the messiness of being human.
Do you ever find yourself stuck in the trap of perfectionism? You want to accomplish something, hell you’d like to just get started but you're waiting for the "perfect" moment or the perfect knowledge base to take action on your dreams?
I've been there countless times, paralyzed by the fear of not getting it "just right." The fear of what others might think or how I’ll be perceived. But here's the thing: there's no such thing as perfect action. The only way to make progress and achieve our goals is to embrace imperfect action.
Being neurodivergent myself with both ADHD, a history of severe social anxiety and a sleep disorder, and being HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) I know well the impact of a neurodivergent brain. And each of these separate diagnoses magnified the others, making a potent combination that had severe impacts on my life.
And yet I don’t focus on neurodiversity.
Celebrating small wins can be a powerful tool for maintaining motivation, building confidence, and ultimately achieving greater success. Small wins however, often go unnoticed as if they didn’t happen at all or even worse, we judge them as not enough or even as failures. This can lead us to be blind to our progress until we shift the patterns that keep us from seeing and celebrating our small wins.
Practicing gratitude can leave us at the whims of external forces for our happiness. It can leave us dependent on something outside ourselves to feel good. But if we take ownership for our part and we celebrate ourselves, we are putting the power for our well being in our hands. We are empowering ourselves to take control over our emotional well being and create the opportunity for feeling good.
Nature, in all its glory, is rarely perfect. Trees bear the marks of time, flowers wilt, and landscapes show the scars of change. And has my Facebook posts have shown this week, sea critters can wash ashore in vast numbers to dissolve upon the beach.Yet, there's an undeniable beauty in this very imperfection. This is the essence of wabi-sabi and kintsugi, two Japanese philosophies that can deepen our connection with the natural world and with ourselves.
Perhaps for you self-doubt shows up in a different way perhaps you don’t struggle with any of the things that I struggled with. Maybe self-doubt shows up in you with its own flavor. Or maybe you can relate to some of the things that I shared. What does your story look like and what are the things holding you back? Whether they look similar to mine or not, we all have stories that don’t serve us, we all have traumas to overcome.
Accepting help is obviously a weakness. Right? After all, we live in a world that often glorifies independence. We're bombarded with messages about self-reliance, pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps, and conquering challenges alone. But the truth is, humans are social creatures. We thrive on connection and collaboration. And one of the most powerful ways to deepen those connections and achieve success is by accepting help.
