Happy New Year Everyone. As you may have guessed by the image above, I've fallen a bit behind on my own self-imposed blogging schedule, just to prove to you I know what I'm talking about when it comes to Procrastination.
Though it may be a bit late to send you a gift, I didn't want you to miss out on the messages contained in this post, as they are some of the best gifts I have ever received.
Great Piece of Advice #1:
When you can help someone, help someone.
Whatever roles we play, whether they be in our families, schools, jobs, or communities, we may unwittingly play by the unspoken rules of those roles. In my training to be a psychologist, I was trained to maintain a level of neutrality with regard to my patients, meaning I should do my best to not let my personal, subjective feelings interfere with my interactions with my patients.
In trying my best to maintain proper neutrality with regard to my patients, I may have missed some good opportunities to be of direct help to them. I think my “role” prevented me from being fully thoughtful and creative when working with patients. Fortunately for me, a very wise supervisor advised me, “When you can be helpful, do that.” It was simple, beautiful advice, and just the right advice for the patient that supervisor was advising me on.
That one piece of advice has since been a core part of how I look at my interactions with others both at work and outside of work. In many ways, it underlies my blogging efforts as well.
Great Piece of Advice #2:
You should be able to feel all of your feelings.
Fortunately for me, it was one of my very first supervisors who shared this advice with me. Hearing and learning this advice was like having a whole world open up, as I had come to the psychology profession without much of a direct clue as to how my own feelings operated. To be granted permission, in a way, to play with all of the feelings I possessed at that time, was transformative.
I have since learned when you are open to the full range of your personal experience, you are inevitably better equipped to handle your own experiences. Without awareness of our feelings and without a sense of being permitted to experience and to communicate our feelings, we are relegated to acting and feeling in a more limited, constricted way.
Evaluate what feelings you might be unable to process in your own life. What makes you clam up? What makes you nervous? What can't you find the words to say? If you're curious about ways in which to expand your own emotional repetoire, please consider finding a therapist or coach to assist you in your journey.
Great Piece of Advice #3:
Don't wait for others to show their love for you before showing your love for them.
This piece of advice which came from a beloved mentor, seems to me now, like a neat combination of the first two Great Pieces of Advice. We needn't stop the natural flow and engagement of our feelings in order to prove something, whether it be our status, our position, our coolness or our calmness. Let your love flow.
What does this advice session have to do with Procrastination?
Nothing directly, I would say. I just know I didn't want to wait any longer to share it with you. I wish you the best of luck in grabbing what this New Year has to offer you and in enjoying its many riches.
Any advice gifts you'd like to share with me? I'd love to hear them.
