I recently listened to an excerpt from an interview with Deepak Chopra where he talked about how, all throughout the eons of evolution, episodes of punctuated disequilibrium and a proliferation of chaos (translation – overwhelming chaos and craziness!) lead to a quantum leap in creativity. Now, although he was talking about this in the context of broader universal terms, his insight can absolutely be applied to each one of us in our daily lives – especially in these turbulent and uncertain times, with all of the challenges they bring for us as moms.

I know for me, as a Mom Entrepreneur, my business thrives on my creativity, and when I have experienced times of fear and overwhelm (we all know those 3:00 AM “wake-up calls” where our minds are racing almost as fast as our hearts!), my creativity tends to come to a screeching halt. Let’s face it – as moms, all of the skeletons of self-doubts that we try to keep tucked away out of sight and out of mind tend to come tumbling out of the closet in times of difficulty or crisis. And I speak to both working- and stay-at-home moms daily, who have previously or are currently experiencing the same discomfort and the accompanying feelings of stress, tightness, pressure, and often downright panic that this overwhelming chaos and uncertainty can bring on.

Based on my own personal experiences, as well as what I have observed with other mom-friends, clients, and peers, Deepak Chopra’s wisdom is completely accurate! When I have allowed myself to just breathe during those times of paralyzing fear and overwhelm, and given myself the space to take a step back and take a literal mental and physical break from the panic (i.e., spending a day reading an inspiring book I’d been wanting to get to, or diving completely into some relaxing family-time, or focusing on some simple work activities that let me accomplish something, but without too much struggle or effort), I suddenly have all sorts of creative ideas, opportunities, and solutions flowing into my mind, and I find myself moving toward a way-better place then I had imagined when I was standing on the front-side of all of that fear and anxiety.

Now, I know this all sounds a little counter-intuitive and over-simplified, but I swear it is true, and it works! The next time you find yourself feeling like your back is up against the wall and you can feel that horribly heart-racing panic setting in, try to consciously take that step back, take that breather, and focus on doing something that makes your heart happy for even just a little bit. Focus on what you CAN do in this moment, and take it one little step at a time. Your conflicted feelings don’t define who you are, or make you unworthy, undeserving or somehow inadequate – it is a natural part of evolution… of you growing and shedding something that no longer serves you, to allow you to move forward toward something that has more meaning for who you are becoming and where you want to go!

Recognize your situation as simply a moment in time that you will absolutely make it through. And then, remember that you have the choice – the situation at hand is at hand, and you can either choose to remain in an awfully unpleasant and unproductive state of fear, or you can choose to see it as Deepak Chopra’s “punctuated disequilibrium” – a short-term moment of out-of-balance discomfort – that will help propel you forward to a place of increased creativity and new meaning that wouldn’t have come about otherwise!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
Inspiring Moms to Evolve TM
www.momevolve.com