Me and some sista-friends were talking last night about the relationship that food has with how we respond to certain environments. I brought up how I’ve recently started running again. I can’t run in the cold; I just can’t. God bless the body who can. So I’ve been indoors, indulging on fried chicken, smothered turkey wings, seafood gumbo, cornbread, and brownies. As yummy as it was, it took its physical and emotional toll.
So when the weather started acting like it kinda had some sense again, I couldn’t wait to grab my Nikes from under the bed. Once on the concrete, you would’ve thought my bones were still frozen. A non-runner might roll their eyes at this, but runners will feel me. It hurt my feelings when my two miles went from 00:20:40 to 22 minutes. That’s a lot!
The same went for eating lighter. One of my favorite raw dishes is a salad of cucumber, tomato, avocado, and kale jumbled around in olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a teeny bit of salt and some cracked black pepper. Baby…this go round it felt like nothing had enough salt. I actually had to take the container to the sink to see if salt was actually coming out. Not just in that dish, but in nearly all of my clean eats.
That’s what the backburner does to not only our bodies, but our books as well.
Although my break was only about a month, I felt it. I didn’t stop writing, I actually started writing more during my break, but it helped me to even better understand how it feels to pull a book off the backburner. Those first few days back running, I felt like my heart would burst outta my chest and collapse on the cement while the 80-year olds with fanny packs and new moms with strollers jogged around it. I had no choice but to listen to what my body was trying to tell me. Plus, it’s disrespectful not to.
Intuition helps you discern the difference between challenging yourself to push through and honoring your need to slow down. I’m more than familiar with the voice of ego (which is shamed far too much, but I’ll write about that later) telling me to go harder. Let’s call it my inner father or my yang. I’m also in tune with the voice of my inner mother, or that yin, which gives me permission to ease back into it.
Ease back into it.
Don’t go with the same writing goal that you had before your break. I eased back into my two miles by running a mile, walking a quarter, running another half, then walking that last quarter. After about my fourth run, I was good again. A couple days ago, I actually broke my two-mile record.
If you’re in a backburner dilemma–whether it’s about your relationship to your book, your body, or something else:
- Ask yourself if you’re ready to get back out there. And be honest with yourself. That’s important.
- See what the water is feeling like. Are you stiff as shit? Are you stuck? How does doing it again feel?
- Answer yin or yang. Slow down or pick up the pace? What’s your gut telling you?
- Plan accordingly. Integrate it back into your to-do list and everything else that comes with prioritizing your goal.
If it’s your body, and you’re curious about how you can be supported in that, then connect with Ivy of Me, My Body, and Love. I hired her two years ago as my Body Relationship Coach, and the techniques she taught me back then are what I used (and still use) to get back into the space of loving/honoring my body’s needs. Plus, she’s done some dope rebranding: MeMyBodyAndLove.com
If it’s your relationship with your book, then let’s get on the phone–me and you–to discuss where you left off, how you’re feeling now, and create a plan to move forward. Strategy Sessions are $97 and after our 90 minutes of masterminding, you’ll have the aha to finish your book this time. And I’ll follow up with you a week later to make sure of that. I operate in a no shame zone, so come as you are, with what you have, and let’s make magic. Schedule your call.