Weekly Happiness Note August 1, 2024

Why It’s Okay to Surrender and Stop Trying So Hard

Aug 01, 2024

“Instead of comparing yourself to others or previous versions of who you were, surrender to the current version of yourself.”

Happy Thursday! 🌞

Are you tired of making life harder than it ought to be? Do you want more fun and ease? In this week’s happiness note, ‘Why It’s Okay to Surrender and Stop Trying so Hard,’ I share some tips for going with the flow more often.

Check out this week's note, including a weekly planning framework for August 5th - August 11th. ❤ Emily

Here is a short 90-second video that highlights this week’s topic, and for the rest, subscribe below:

This Week’s Featured Topic:

Why It’s Okay to Surrender and Stop Trying So Hard

How do you define surrender?

Do you view surrendering as an act of defeat or strength?

Many of us are programmed to think that the harder we try, the greater our results will be. But what is the cost of this full-throttle approach to life?

At the end of our journey, will we be grateful for having lived a fast-paced life? Or will we long to have more space and time to linger in the in-between moments?

I sense that the moments we’ll cling to and want more of are the delicious moments disguised as ordinary and repetitive. We’ll remember the feeling we had in moments when we weren’t trying or wishing we were somewhere else—we just were.

It’s our act of surrender that allows us to drink in the experience of being alive. It’s not rushing, pushing, and trying overly hard to live that makes a life worth living.

Here are a few practices that help me remember why it’s more than okay to surrender and stop trying so hard. If they resonate, see how they fit for you.

#1: Go at Your Own Pace

Let the Joneses be the Joneses. Live life by your design and aim to align with your unique pace. It’s not sustainable to push all the time or attempt to match the pace of everyone else but yourself. The pressure we put on ourselves to keep up is exactly the kind of push that leads to burnout and overwhelm.

Instead of comparing yourself to others or previous versions of yourself, surrender to the current version of yourself. Embrace who you are right now.

#2: Listen to Your Body

Exhaustion and burnout are real. We aren’t robots. We are human beings. I live in a body, and so do you. It’s important that we nurture and take care of our bodies. Thankfully, we are equipped with physical senses and emotions. Our bodies will give us cues when we are tired, hungry, thirsty, happy, sad, overwhelmed, etc.

We have to actually tune in, listen, and take action, though. It doesn’t work in our favor when we ignore our cues and instead keep pushing or numbing out. It’s okay to surrender and give our bodies what is truly needed. Often, this looks like rest and nurturing.

We all also have our circadian rhythm to account for. According to The National Sleep Foundation, “Your circadian rhythm is basically a 24-hour internal clock that is running in the background of your brain and cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals. It’s also known as your sleep/wake cycle.”

We live in environments where we are perpetually plugged into our devices. Many of us trade sleep for sensory overload. Then, we drag ourselves through the day, feeling depleted, emotional, and confused about why we have to try so hard to get through the most basic things.

As the National Sleep Foundation states, “The more you pay attention to your body and notice feelings of alertness and drowsiness, and the more time you spend developing good sleep hygiene habits, the better your slumber will be and the better you’ll feel.”

Unplugging and surrendering to solid, regular slumber is more than okay.

#3: Be Open to Play

Are you having fun yet? If not, find your best way to slow down and make room for more play. A playful attitude is something we can bring with us everywhere we go. It’s okay to lighten up and approach our days with lightheartedness and a willingness to have fun. It’s fun to have fun!

See how it feels to let go of the idea you should approach your day with great effort and force. Instead, surrender to the notion that life doesn’t have to feel hard. It can feel softer when we are open to play.

I’m using Microsteps to make more room for play in my daily life. For the last few years, I’ve enjoyed creating a weekly intention. I set my intention as a word or phrase I feel emotionally attached to. My weekly intention serves as a quick reminder and reset. I bring it to mind throughout the week to stay aligned with how I want to feel.

For the duration of summer, I intend to be open to more play and to allow the magic of my life to unfold. Translation: this basically means I’m going to stop trying to make life harder than it needs to be. Instead, I’ll have more fun, and it’ll be more fun for my family and loved ones to be in my presence.

What about you? How might you let go of the idea that life has to be hard? What might change if you decide it’s okay to surrender to more play and rest on your terms?

❤ Emily

This Week’s Quote:

Limited on time or don’t feel like reading

Check out this week’s Video instead:

Planning for Next Week📝:

Use the framework below to plan your upcoming week: August 5th - August 11th. Some people like to map out their upcoming week on Friday to ease into the weekend, knowing they are ready to hit the road running on Monday. Others (like myself) have a Sunday planning ritual. Do what works best for you. Over the years, in supporting many people in their planning and goal-setting, it seems to work best to pick a day of the week that’s easy to stick to so that your weekly planning becomes a habit and ritual.

What are your wins? Before you organize the upcoming week, ‘August 5th - August 11th’, reflect on the week you are wrapping up. What are your wins (big or small)? What is something you are grateful for? What have you learned about yourself this week? Record your reflections in your journal or the Notes section of the Planner Printout. Feel free to comment below (others in this community will also be able to see your comment) or hit reply to this note and share directly with me.

Planner PDF printout: This printout is from the ‘Fall in Love with Your Life, Seasonal Planner’ and will give you the framework and planning system to help you organize your upcoming week: The week of August 5th - August 11th. Click here to access. You will need to enter a password to open the PDF. It’s in all caps: FILWYL

Accountability: If you’d like an accountability check-in to support you in making the weekly planning ritual a regular habit, just hit reply to this email after you’ve organized your week and let me know you’re organized and complete. Feel free to share your weekly intention/power word. I’m always happy to be the check-in support and would love to celebrate your wins.

Instructional Video: Get free access to this mini 20-minute video course. It will show you how to easily use the ‘Fall in Love With Your Life, Seasonal Planner’ method of organizing your week. Go here to access the free video course.

Priorities: What are your top three priorities for the upcoming week? What are some of the daily ways you will prioritize yourself? Remember to balance your energy output with energy input. Think: What has been energizing me lately? What has been draining my energy?

Connect with Nature: Take a favorite pastime, like reading or card playing, outdoors. If you plan to connect socially with others, plan to do so outside and notice how that feels.

Journal reflection points prompted by nature: What do you think it is about nature that helps us feel calmer and, at times, even more connected to ourselves?

Or come Share in our Facebook Group

Share your intention for the week of August 5th - August 11th. What are you calling in? What is your power word/phrase?

Weekly Happiness Note with Emily Madill

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