Hey there, it's Michael. Welcome to Whole Again, A show about helping us embrace life with mindfulness and resilience through the wisdom of cons, Sugi on Fridays. I love sharing a short episode with you, a little mindset shift to help you navigate today's uncertainty with a bit more grace. And today I wanna share something that came up with one of the executive leaders I coach.
It's something that I think we all know in our heads, but we struggle to live out loud in real life. And it's this truth. Nothing changes. If nothing changes. I'll let that settle in for a sec. Here's the thing. Sometimes we find ourselves stuck. We're hurting, suffering, unsatisfied, whatever word you want to use.
Not because we're lazy, not because we're broken, but because we're waiting, waiting to. Waiting for the conditions to be perfect, waiting for the other person to go first, but real growth, the kind that brings us back to ourselves, the kind that helps us feel whole again. Almost always requires some healthy tension, a little friction if you will.
Maybe even a little discomfort. With my client, her discomfort was at work, her relationship with her boss's boss, and she was wondering if she should have a conversation with him. Her worry was that he may not receive the conversation all that well, and there might be a ripple effect of that, and that's a natural thought process.
What I shared though. Is nothing changes. If nothing changes, it's unlikely. He'll wake up one day and find religion and change as a leader, or he'll eat some type of exotic berry in his asai bull and he'll be a new man. Having the conversation, even with the risk of a little tension is how he can gain awareness.
With awareness, we can at least get into some intentional action. That conversation will be some data for her to help her make up her mind on her future at the company. This idea of healthy tension or maybe even good stress, it's somewhat like a yoga post. That will ask you to breathe into the stretch.
You can feel the discomfort, not pain, but discomfort. It's challenging. Another example could be a moment of stillness when your to-do list is screaming at you to get stuff done. That is tension. It's not a sign that something's wrong, but rather it's telling you you're on the edge of something, something new.
For all of us, it's probably not fair to expect, to feel more peaceful, more aligned, more successful without making different choices in order for things to change for the better. We have to find a way to disrupt our habitual patterns that keep us overwhelmed or checked out, or always tired. This is the whole principle behind microdose a feature in my app, just enough friction to change our habitual patterns with our phone.
So we spend less time on our phone and more time doing things that bring us more joy and. That leads us to the good news that we can make this change. We can lean in to this healthy tension because the changes you make don't have to be dramatic. If you've heard any of my story in the past, you know, I'm a big believer of small, consistent steps over time.
So small little steps, incremental change, and when we can be consistent in leaning into this healthy tension, then big change happens. So your first step doesn't have to be huge, it just needs to happen, and it simply can be pausing just a little bit longer before reacting or responding, maybe breathing before we try to push through something and force it.
It can be just listening to our body. Listening to what it whispers to us, and it can be that conversation that we wanna have, but we haven't had yet. Or a simple change in the way that you greet the morning. All this can lead to change you desire. So what's one small way you can bring some healthy tension into your day to day?
So you can create the change that you wish to see in the world. And remember, it doesn't have to be perfect. We are not about perfection here. It simply has to be real. Something real can help you build momentum, even the tiniest bit, and that leads to confidence. Confidence leads to clarity that leads to trust.
Having trust in oneself is key to creating change that we seek. So today, see if you can lean into some healthy tension and start to change things for the better.
And before you head off into our uncertain world. Let's take one generous breath together, breathing in deeply down into your belly, feeling your lungs expand, and now release the breath slowly through your mouth,
allowing your body to relax. All right, I hope that felt good. As always, thanks for being here. Thank you for being part of our community. And if you haven't yet signed up for the free text messages of support I send out about three times a week. You can do so by texting whole again to 8, 6, 6. 6 1 2 4 6 0 4 and I will set you up.
And if you wish to further enhance your digital health, I'll invite you to take my smartphone wellness check and you can access it through the link in the show notes. Or you can visit my website, which is Michael O'Brien shift.com, and it's absolutely free, and it'll help you scroll less. And live more.
And of course, I hope you'll join us here on whole again every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and discover how to heal, grow, and become more resilient and celebrate our scars as golden symbols of strength and resilience. Until then, remember, you can always come back to your breath. You've got this and we've got you.
