It’s not surprising that when we’re all stuck at home, we start feeling a little bit stuck in other ways.
For many of us, this feeling of stuckness can come around because of a variety of things. We might feel physically stuck or emotionally stuck – all sorts of ‘stuck stuff’ going on, especially when we are in lockdown and away from our usual flow.
Our usual flow as practitioners tends to look something like:
- a general routine that we have
- the way that we go through the day
- a flow of energy
- people coming through the door
- a flow of money that goes through our clinics or spaces
But at the moment, we might not be feeling that same kind of flow.
That doesn’t mean the flow isn’t there though.
Let’s talk about how to find your flow when you feel really stuck (including more cash flow!), and I will share the four ways I’ve had experience finding flow when I’ve felt stuck.
4 Ways To Find Your Flow Again
So, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about our trips to Bali and other activities that we’re usually doing this time of year. On those trips to Southeast Asia in particular, there is a flow when you see the traffic.
When you first go to Bali, you’re like, “What on earth is going on here? This is crazy! I can’t even fathom how I’m going to cross this road. How am I going to journey from this side to the other side without something really detrimental happening to me?”
If you’re having a journey from one place to another, particularly when the traffic is crazy, how do you begin? It’s the same thing you may be feeling right now. How do you get back into flow when you feel so out of flow?
When you come into a foreign zone of somewhere like Bali, all you see is crazy traffic, a hodgepodge of stuff that’s going on, and it looks like utter chaos. That’s kind of similar to how we’re feeling about the planet right now, right? It looks like utter chaos.
#1 Take The First Step
So how do you begin to journey across it and get into flow? In both of those situations, it starts with the first step. You can’t get into flow without moving.
When we are stagnant, and when we feel stuck, one of the biggest, hardest things to do is actually take that first step.
The analogy comes to mind here about how it takes 80% of rocket fuel to get a rocket out of the Earth’s gravity into space. So 80% of the fuel is used up to get it out there. Then it does its thing and comes back on just the remaining 20% of its energy.
For you, that first step you take to get out of the dread, out of the trajectory you’re currently in, is going to be 80% harder than it usually is. But you still need to take the first step. Just like you can’t cross that crazy road in Bali unless you take the first step.
Whatever it is for you that’s happening at the moment, where you feel stuck, you still need to get all that energy – and it will take a bit more energy right now – to get that first step done.
Get Past Your Internal Resistance
There’s a little voice in the back of your mind going, “Yeah, I know what that first step is. I do have to change that thing on my website. Yeah, I do. I’m not a tech person, though. . .”
That’s all of your resistance and blocks coming in. The same thing happens with trying to get a rocket ship out to space.
There are plenty of reasons why we wouldn’t want to burn up 80% of that fuel getting that rocket into outer space. There are so many other ways you could use that fuel. But you need to use it for that first step to get you out of the trajectory that you’re currently in.
So when you’re getting that first step done – whatever that first step is for you right now – you need to take it.
All the excuses will come out and it will take more energy. But once that first step is done, then you’ll be in flow. You’ll be in some variety of flow and it may feel like a bit of a jiggle.
Just like when you’re crossing that road in Bali, you’re freaking out, going, “Oh my gosh! I’ve taken the first step! Agghh!” It feels even more chaotic, sometimes.
But keep going consistently and persistently across the road, with confidence. Right? If you hesitate and can’t choose a direction – “I don’t know about this! Back, front, back, front, back, front…” You’re gonna get hit by a motorbike.
But if you confidently take the next best step, and the next best step, and the next best step consistently and persistently, then you’re going to be able to get across the road eventually. No one can tell you how fast or slow you can get across those crazy roads when there’s chaos. But if you’re consistent and persistent, you will get there eventually.
#2 Be Consistent And Persistent
This is the thing, right now. If you’re not finding flow, you have to show up consistently and persistently.
Consistency means showing up and showing up and showing up.
Take the step even though you’re scared. Make a move even when there’s some random thing flying at you. Consistently take the next step, persistently go anyway, even if the weirdest random things are happening. You just keep going.
As Dory says, ‘Just keep swimming.‘ (That’s one of my favourites. We’re a big Pixar family household, here).
Just keep swimming, just keep showing up. Do those social media posts. Put that email out. Find the next best step and do it.
Don’t dilly dally about:
- MailChimp or MailerLite
- changing your platform
- doing a bunch of other things
That’s just procrastination.
If you did that in the middle of the chaos of Bali traffic, you would get hit by a motorbike and then you’d be out.
Instead, just stay consistent and persistent. Keep showing up and you’ll get there eventually.
#3 Collaborate (aka safety in numbers)
After you’ve taken the first step, consistently and persistently show up to get into flow. Then you’ll find you’re in the middle of the flow. And again, it can feel a bit chaotic and a bit different to standing on the side of the road, wishing you were in the flow or crossing the road. The same thing happened to me when I was going around the Arc de Triomphe in France, I stupidly didn’t know where the tunnel was. I was with a whole bunch of other tourists and we would try and cross the crazy roundabout that’s around the Arc de Triomphe. As you’re going across, the only way to get across when you’re in mid-flow is to have safety in numbers. When you’re in the middle of flow you can’t be out there by yourself. You are a moving target.
As a profession right now, we have the opportunity to collaborate instead of competing. We are stronger together. The same thing happens when you’re in traffic and flow. It feels chaotic, but when you’re doing it by yourself, it’s way worse. But if you’re doing it with somebody else, and there’s safety in numbers, the flow goes around and follows and doesn’t touch you. It’s like you’ve got this amazing bubble.
So when you are trying to get into flow, try not to do it alone. There is safety in numbers.
Right now as natural health practitioners, if we are all:
- showing up
- taking that first step
- persistently and consistently sharing the messages of health and wellbeing
Even though it still feels like chaos, there’s safety in numbers and there’s a push. When there’s a push flow really starts to happen.
When you’re crossing the road and everyone’s together, you’re like, “Yeah! We’ve got this!” You’re journeying not by yourself but together.
From that space where you were stuck, you then start to have momentum because there is safety in numbers. You have momentum because you’re consistently, persistently pushing through and because you had that oomph at the beginning, even though it was so much more energy and effort to get that first step going.
Find your tribe of people saying the same thing and give them a holler. Give them a shout out and say, “Hey, I’m coming across with you. Are you ready? Let’s go!”
Tag them on Instagram, tag them on Facebook, send them a message, make sure they’re okay. Then we can all go together.
#4 Align With Someone Else’s Flow
If you do still feel like you’re in chaos and you still feel like, “What on earth am I doing? I’m going to get hit by a motorbike trying to cross this road.”
Find the flow of somebody else to help you. You can find the flow of somebody else, some other organisation, or some government body right now, to help you get into flow.
When you’re on a motorbike in Bali, and you start to recognise what the flow looks like, it’s much easier to cross the road next time. Because all of a sudden, you go, “Oh, that’s what it looks like to turn. There’s what it looks like when everybody comes to a stop or speeds up. That’s what it looks like as we go around and traffic gets heavy or light.” You start to understand it better if you’re in alignment with the flow of somebody else.
Now, what that looks like in real life at the moment is if you can find the flow of getting a grant, go and get a grant.
Finding the flow in this fashion by aligning your flow with:
- the government
- an organisation
- a teaching platform like teachable to get out to so many more people
Because they’ve already got their own flow going, you jump into their flow and ride the wave with them. Until a point in time where you can see a break in the traffic and you can start to flow by yourself.
Share Your Value
At the moment, many of you guys might feel the need to be in flow with somebody else. To do that, you’ve got to start to notice how to get into flow. Start to see where your value is and how it can match the value of another platform like Teachable, Thinkific, or Udemy. They’ve all got a massive following already. They have a platform of people waiting there to learn new things and you could be on there teaching new things. So be on that platform because you might not have the space to be able to find new people at the moment. But Teachable, Thinkific, Udemy and others already have people. They’re essentially waiting.
It’s like the traffic and the flow is already going through and you’re going to jump into it, share your message, or masterclass, or eCourse. Yes, it takes a little bit to get into that flow. But once you’re in it, there’s a chance that so many more people are going to see your thing then when you try to do it all by yourself. from the kind of hustle side of things. So, if you want to hop onto those types of flows, you can do that. It just takes a little bit of figuring it out.
Focus On What You CAN Do
The same thing happens with the government, right now. Yes, there’s conflicting information. And if you focus on the conflicting information, you won’t get into the flow, will you?
It’s the same as if you were vacillating about how to get on the road: “Should I get into the car or should I get on the skateboard? Maybe I should on the mountain bike or should I catch a lift on the back of this motorbike?”
If you keep going like that, you’re not going to actually get into the flow. So focus on what you can do to get into that flow rather than what you can’t. Once you focus on what you can do to get into that flow, hop in, try it out, see what it feels like. It might feel a bit weird being on the back of motorbike for the first time. And for many of us, hopping onto the government flow at the moment might feel a little bit weird.
But it’s worth it to start to see where the flow of cash, people, traffic are all going. Then once you can say it from that different angle, you’ll be able to hop into your own flow again with everybody else in the profession.
It’s really important to align your flow with somebody else at the moment, if you feel the need. And don’t feel bad about that! It’s really, really important to find the flow.
When you’re stuck on the side of the road all by yourself, not knowing what to do, it’s a very, very different feeling to being in alignment with somebody else’s flow. Whether that’s a government organisation, a teaching platform, or otherwise.
You can also align yourself with other people’s podcasts by appearing as a guest and being interviewed. Then you’re aligning with their flow and their traffic of clients and their following. Maybe you might want to align with different companies.
If you are already helping sell:
- a particular company’s products
- somebody’s teas
- some other product
Make sure that you’re aligning with their flow, that they know that you’re there.
Tag them in things and give them a blog post. Then the flow of traffic starts to happen for not only you but them.
Lastly, things like tele-summits – even creating your own tele-summit or webinar. Interviewing other people and appearing in a way that you probably haven’t before. This is the thing about aligning with somebody else’s flow, it takes a little bit of getting used to. But it’s worth it in the end because all the traffic is going in the same direction.
Recap
So there are my four tips to align yourself and find more flow when you feel stuck.
- Take the first step. It’s going to take heaps more energy to do it but take that first step.
- Be persistent and consistent. Because just like if you’re in traffic you need to keep moving, consistently and consistently. If you dilly dally, you’re gonna get hit by something and it will be chaotic.
- Collaborate. There is safety in numbers. Right now, it’s the time and place to shout out to our collaborators, referral partners, the amazing opportunities that we have as a profession to all move ourselves forward.
- Align with someone else. If you can’t find your own flow, hop into and align your flow with where the flow of money and people currently is. For some of us, that might be the government. Or it might be a company, other people’s tele-summits, or teaching platforms. Create something that is already of value in your head and allow it to be seen by all of the traffic of somebody else.
Take Action
If something in this resonated with you, please share it with somebody else who might need it right now. All of us need this right now. We all need inspiration and motivation. And we all need to take the action to create the traction that you need right now.
So take an action out of what I’ve said today. Where can you:
- take your first step?
- take a thing in the back of your mind and get it done?
- align with somebody else who’s already in flow?
- find the information you need to get that cash flow going so that more flow can happen?
- share the safety of numbers? Give shout outs to others you can see are already in flow and give them a virtual high five?
Join us in the Natupreneur Hub to see what others are doing to stay in flow, share your challenges, and get support. We’re all there to succeed together!
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