30 Days of Encouragement – Day 7 – Showing Up

Welcome to 30 Days of Encouragement – Day 7 – Showing Up. At first, showing up seems straightforward. Upon closer look, it can be more layered than initially thought.

I recently listened to a podcast between Ed Mylett and James Clear discussing Mr. Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. The headline on the cover is “Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results.” The book came into my orbit when I noticed myself brushing aside small practices in my own life which were directly proportional to the junk that I wanted to overhaul. Talk about synchronicity.

In the podcast, Clear more or less stated that the first habit to master is the art of showing up. The statement stuck with me. I have since begun viewing everything through the lens of “am I showing up?”. 

I Trust Me, I Trust Me Not

If you have read my post, you know I have never considered myself consistent. Showing up reads as being consistent to me. I have long disliked that about myself and have massively struggled with it. I sincerely tried to overcome it (many times), but nothing ever stuck. Those failures only reinforced my belief that I cannot be consistent. However, I am also quite bullheaded and refuse to accept that result. 

The phrasing of “showing up” was like a light bulb going off in my head. It was suddenly abundantly clear to me that by being inconsistent, I was not showing up for myself. I had never put the two concepts together before. Lack of consistency = breaking my own trust. When that realization clicked, I felt a bit slow on the uptake, had a good giggle at myself, and felt thankful that the dots had finally connected. 

System Failure

Mr. Clear points out that a person does not rise to the level of their goals but instead falls to the level of their systems. The clever bit for me in that statement is that it removed any guilt I was heaping on myself for not reaching goals. Not in the I-am-pretending-I-accept-this-part-of-me sort of way, but in an extending myself grace way. By emphasizing the systems, I could take myself out of the equation. As I often have to remind myself, I am not that cool.

People and circumstances change. I have been so focused on falling short that I did not consider the existing systems do not allow for any margin of error. Yes, I had a hand in creating those systems, but I made them inflexible. I was setting myself up for failure by being absolute, ergo breaking my own trust. I see you, self-sabotage, and raise you awareness.

As Flexible As A Yogi

Even as I write this, various “aww, man!” moments keep recurring over systems I now realize are outdated. I do not feel upset over it, though. Nor am I blaming myself. Getting stuck in the quagmire of blame and shame will stagnate a person faster than most anything else. I am pretty excited about reexamining the systems and changing how I am showing up. Learning to be flexible and making the necessary adjustments as I go. 

Do you have any outdated systems that could use a refresh? Methods that would better help you show up? I am curious to know.

Until next time, 

Rah