What keeps us in the gray zone?
I started working with a new triathlon coach about a month ago.
One of the first things he said to me is, "You spend too much time in the gray zone. It'll make you tired, but it won't make you faster."
And so I've shifted to making the easy workouts wicked easy, and the hard workouts wicked hard.
Here's what I've noticed so far: I didn't feel tired when I was working with my previous coach, but since signing on for the wicked easy/wicked hard path with my new coach, I've been reading more, writing more and juggling more. I've been feeling super lit up about a bunch of things and the epiphanies have been poppin'.
The thing is, I'm not the only one who was stuck in the gray zone. Helllooo, humans! We're pretty much professionals at hunkering down in there.
We don't want to feel the really hard emotions like anger, sadness and grief so we keep ourselves in the gray zone, feeling fine or maybe even good. But, by protecting ourselves from deep grief, we also protect ourselves from deep joy.
The same is often true in business, where we've been trained to produce and contribute every single day, so we grind it out. It doesn't matter that we're not feeling electrically inspired every day, we get it done. So here we are, a bunch of brilliant beings, muddling through, producing a steady stream of B-minus work.
What keeps us in the gray zone?
Fun. I had a blast training in the gray zone. I didn't realize that I'd have even more fun training in the extremes.
Fear. Uncomfortable emotions can be really uncomfortable! But we have to be willing to experience the pit of despair if we want to experience the golden highs of pure joy.
Pressure. We feel so much pressure (especially those of us with open crowns) to keep doing. We fear that people will forget about us. We've gotta keep making stuff--even if what we're making is far from our best. But what if we only created the stuff that absolutely lit our souls on fire and, when we weren't feeling exuberantly excited about something, we rested?
What could be possible if we released the good to welcome in the great?
That's probably enough shit-disturbing for today. 🤣
I love you.
Love,
Kelsey
P.S. Friday, March 11 is the last day to get a free mini Human Design Reading when you register for The Money Class! Register here.
P.P.S. Katie Allen is on The Find Your Awesome Podcast tomorrow. This is one sparkly episode! Wow. We talked about fashion. We talked about the magic of emotional authority. And we talked about so much more. There is so much joy and wisdom woven into this magical conversation. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.