You ever wait for the other shoe to drop?
And then it does?
👀
pssssssst. Imma let you in on a secret.
POV: you preparing to keep this secret I published on the literal internet
That’s because there’s always another shoe.
there’s always another shoe
1⃣ A PROBLEM: life is inconvenient.
You’ve heard it a million times.
💁🏻♀️ “I got a promotion only for my car to break down the next day.”
🙋🏽♂️ “My medicine got covered through health insurance. And then I got laid off.”
Time and time again, people experience bad things right after brief success…
and it leads them to believe this pattern will repeat in the future.
AND IT DOES.
Life for many of us feels like one fight after another after another, with “peace” being a foreign concept.
Let’s talk about why.
“uh please explain business Mom, because this is feeling bleak” 🫣
2⃣ A REALIZATION: life is not “linear”
Life is not an actual game.
It’s not linear in terms of progress.
Life is COMPLEX.
There are so many things happening each and every day that affect the outcome.
your mood
the people around you
world leaders and their moods 🙄
your boss or clients
your lack of a job or clients
a random thunderstorm
pollution
really great news
finding $100 on the street
losing $100 on the street
mini lesson: IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT YOU 💁🏻♀️
Because life is random and full of ups and downs, people often to think 1 of 2 ways.
(or even worse, flip flop between them both 🙋🏻♀️)
#1
“There’s no reason to get excited because something bad will always ruin it.”
These people are your realists, pessimists, and skeptics.
They’re afraid to get excited for too long because they will completely divert any excitement towards anxiety the next time a bad things happen (aka a shoe drops)
When you think this way you often avoid obvious trouble, but miss out on great fun.
#2
“I know bad things happen, but it always works out in the end.”
These people are eternal optimists.
They see sunshine and rainbows even in an active hurricane.
When you think this way, you often persevere through hardship, but ignore obvious issues.
(This too shall pass? Absolutely, but we are still in the middle of a storm!)
There’s a simpler realization.
ANOTHER SHOE WILL ALWAYS DROP.
It just doesn’t matter.
There’s always good and bad things happening to you.
They’re not all related. They’re not all about you or a result of your actions.
We exist in a very complex world of intertwined existence.
Neither the good nor bad can be fully ignored, because you’re living it.
You can celebrate wins and work through losses without making it a cycle.
No more “I can’t be happy because one day I’ll be sad” but also no more “there’s no need to be sad ever because a good day is coming” either.
NUANCE. real NUANCE.
3️⃣ A SOLUTION:
embrace your battles and your off season
Think of yourself as a championship fighter.
“ok now you’re talking my language business Mom!!!”
You train, you win, you rest. (rinse & repeat)
Then you know another fight is coming. Even if they’re years apart or days apart, there will be more fights.
Yes you can become the heavyweight champion, but someone could challenge that anytime.
You shouldn’t STOP being proud of your wins because they’re temporary. You should embrace the high of the wins in your down time (off season) and prepare and get excited to fight your battles when the time comes.
The other day, I had a textbook awesome day.
I met all my goals and deadlines with time to spare. I thought I would reward myself with a nice walk outside.
I made it half a mile before I saw a sprinkle of raindrops in my path.
Then more raindrops.
I turned around to walk away from the incoming storm (that formed on a clear day wtf).
I started to feel water brush past my shoulder, my hair, my arms.
“Oh, the storm is coming this way, lovely.”
I picked up the pace, grateful I wasn’t too far from my origin point.
< cue cracks of thunder and a legit torrential downpour of rain >
Within seconds I was soaked.
glasses blurry and all!!!
In the past, this would have RUINED my day.
“Oh of COURSE it rains as soon as I get a moment to enjoy fresh air.”
Instead, I burst out laughing, grabbed this pic, and ran to my destination.
I mean, you couldn’t have scripted a more hilarious interaction with nature (you had to be there, it’s like the rain was chasing me 😂).
I went instead, showered off the day, and finished my night strong.
I just embraced it.
I stopped relating to it.
How much work I got done did not spark a downpour from nature in retaliation for my progress.
I’m pretty powerful, but nothing I do determines the weather.
It had nothing to do with me.
Did another shoe drop? Yeah. I really needed that movement.
Did I get through it and move on tho? Exactly.
4️⃣ THE NUANCE ✨ (she’s back 💅)
For those of you who know me well, it’s not news to you that I’m balancing a lot right now.
maintaining my awesome health progress
running an agency with my business partner Abdullah
caretaking for a loved one post-surgery 🫶
co-hosting webinars, tutorials, and showing up to be interviewed
ramping up my content in all lanes (and I mean ALL)
the daily things like being a mother, wife, and self-adjusted person
This requires a lot of maintenance.
Expending that level of energy each day can make you feel like you’ll just crack if even a feather is thrown on your plate.
POV your business Mom if she didn’t regulate her nervous system 😅
I had to start looking at my life this way to get through those things.
The more I lean into this mentality, the more my life improves.
& the more energy I have to build, grow, and BE.
I hope this helps at least one of you (and makes up for no newsletter last week).
Until next Thursday, please remember:
roses are red ❤
violets are ?blue? 💙 (or are they??)
you’re less “busy” than you think you are,
and life is too short to chase anything but joy
Love,
your business Mom
Learn from people way more interesting than me!
👇
New to the business family or just don’t remember what I taught you before?
read any or all lessons here ➡️ lybm.beehiiv.com
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