I’m pretty excited about this.
I’ve been in the creative cave for a while, building VERY cool things — you may have caught the announcement that Rachel Lang and I are teaching you all about your BRAND, your BLOCKS (and how to bust through them), and your BEST route to prosperity starting next month with Astrology for Creatives — and as typically happens when the creative juices really start flowing, a LOT of new things get built. Joyfully.
NOTE TO SELF (yes, seriously, I’m leaving a note to myself here): During those times when it’s all very dark and low and sad and small, TRUST that there are days coming when it’s all plugged-into-the-matrix cannot-stop-creating-things so-much-joy-for-the-connection and the only thing that makes those dark/low/sad/small times last so long is continuing to choose thoughts around “Why am I like this? Why is everything so hard? What’s wrong with me?” (and you KNOW it’s just a greedy-ass trick-or-treater going for the good brain chemicals).
The TL;DR on this podcast (that is absolutely worth a listen) is this:
There’s a place in the brain that LOVES to be activated. It keeps us in fight-or-flight. It has spent a LOT of time engaged in the past 15 months. It’s well practiced at doing the most.
And there’s a method for GETTING that activation going — consistently — that we let happen. It’s a greedy trick-or-treater, dressing up in different costumes, coming back to the door to get the GOOD candy (all that adrenaline and cortisol and dopamine… oh, my). Just KNOWING that’s what’s going on can interrupt the pattern long enough for us to get *out* of fight-or-flight and back on track for the best-feeling space we can occupy at any given time.
In our Expansive Capacity mastermind, we call noticing this greedy kid in different costumes “Gloop Spotting” in honor of Augustus Gloop from that ol’ chocolate factory. 😉 Greedy, clever, hungry for more, unapologetic about grabbing the good candy.
And our work is to see that cleverness (spot that Gloop), let it know we’re onto its shenanigans, and stop rewarding every single thought on loop with STAYING in that cycle of doling out the brain chemicals it’s craving.
I love this so much!
And it has really helped me shift out a dark/low/sad/small space often enough to get some momentum going around other things, which of course lights me up and the INERTIA for all of that is everything right now.
I’ll ask you now, how do you recenter yourself? Get back into the NOW (vs. anxiety looping, catastrophizing, replaying regrets, or whatever else can get you super activated from time to time).
Comments are open just below. Share your top tips! I love the resource list that our convos always become. 🙂
And of course, if you have ANY questions about the goodies I’m building right now (especially Astrology for Creatives, since we *will* close the doors to our inaugural class on July 4th), pop ’em in and I’ll getcha covered!
So much love flowing your way!
Happy Gloop Spotting!
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
In answer to your query of how does one get out of that catastrophic zone of self-flagellation …in my case…
First off I need to say I try hard (really hard!) to keep aware of where I am at mentally, creating a balance that is less neurotic than it sounds… When I do find myself slipping into ‘that zone’ I know that I need to do a couple of things. Since a lot of my well being mentally is tied to my physicality I need to Stop Eating Crap! – both physically and mentally. It may take a minute, but if I feed myself actually healthy food (and real truths) I do feel better and more focussed in short order! Who knew!
I need to breathe and slow down for a bit… a day- a half-day… an HOUR! and I need to listen.. to my chosen mentors (including Ms. Bonnie, first and foremost) and to my own self which is often the most difficult. Trust in one’s self…. That’s tough for me, but I’m learning… I am enough.
From there it becomes just an exercise in ‘stabilization’. As in walking a rope or riding a bike it is often more about looking at the horizon than at your feet.
All that can happen pretty quickly or if I’ve let it go too long, it CAN take a few days or more…. but seldom does. In reality- it takes what it takes and I move faster and cleaner when I’m not saddled with ‘that crazy making stuff’… and as an added benefit- Life is More Fun!
This is so good, Jonnathon. Thank you! It really is in the micro, isn’t it? I appreciate you sharing this. 🙂
This is an excellent breakdown and it’s shows how powerful the gloop is. The emotional roller coaster of it all. Some days are better than others. On good days I can draw on the spirit of Cesar Milan the dog whisperer. I noticed that his secret is nipping shit in the bud. Like I used to do with my kids. I hated the sound of nasal whining and begging. So as soon as they even got started all I would have to do is clap my hands or some creative distraction.
Honestly these days I’m so over the loops you may hear me tell myself, “Snap out of it bitch!” and I imagine simultaneously seeing Cesar’s hand chopping me in the neck real quick.
I agree the KNOWING alone gives you so much power💖Great post, thank you!🙏🏽
Yes! It really is something that we can keep in check with a quick SNAP. And staying out ahead of it is so much easier than digging out from under it, right? Love you, Karla! Thank you for stopping by.