Stop Asking For What You Don't Need

Listen here.

"You will receive everything you need when you stop asking for what you do not need."

-Nisargadetta Maharaj

This one hit hard -- not necessarily in a bad way, but in that quiet, clarifying way that makes you pause and really sit with something.

For the past couple of years, I've been in what I can only describe as an "in-between" phase. Not lost, exactly -- but searching. Searching for clarity around the impact I want to make and how I want to go about making it. Not "what I want to do with my life" in the conventional sense, because there are genuinely multiple answers to that. It's more about the bigger picture: the purpose behind the work, and the direction I want to move in. 

A Word For The Year: Clarity

At the start of the year, I chose a word to guide me: Clarity. So far, it hasn't arrived in the sweeping, obvious way I might have hoped for. But in small increments -- quietly, slowly -- certain pieces are starting to come together.

One thing I haven't shared much about yet is that I've been working toward my Pilates Teacher Certification. I'm almost through with my hours, and I'm aiming to be fully certified by May. It's become a real priority -- not just because it's on a timeline, but because fitness and health are genuinely important to me. I want them to be a bigger, more intentional part of my life moving forward, not just something I make space for when it's convenient. 

It's been an amazing journey, and I genuinely can't wait to see where it goes. 

The Business Side: An Honest Look

With all of this going on, I'll be honest, I haven't been putting as much into my business as I'd like. Some of that is time management -- I won't pretend otherwise. But a big part of it is also tied to that same clarity I'm seeking. 

I keep waiting for a moment where something just becomes obvious -- where a direction lights up so clearly that I can move on it without hesitation. But what if I already passed that moment? What if something I've already explored was actually "it," and I moved past it because something else caught my eye?

When it comes to creativity, I have what I'd call full-blown Shiny Object Syndrome. I'm genuinely inspired by so many forms of art and so many kinds of projects that I want to learn everything, do everything, create everything. But I'm starting to recognize that trying to focus on five to ten different things isn't ambitious -- it's avoidance. In the long run, it's not sustainable. And deep down, I think I know that. 

I'm at the point where I've sampled enough to start making real choices. Maybe it's one form. Maybe it's two or three that naturally fit together. But it can't keep being everything. 

The Perspective Shift

That's really why this quote stopped me in my tracks.

Maybe I've been praying for the wrong things. Searching in the wrong direction. Asking for answers when what I actually need to do is get better at asking the right questions. 

That reframe is a powerful one -- and it applies far beyond my situation. So often, we don't even realize what we don't need because in the moment, it feels important. It feels urgent. It feels like the answer. But sometimes the things we're chasing the hardest are the very things pulling us away from what we actually need. 

As we move further into this year, I want to challenge you -- and myself --  to make that perspective shift. Instead of looking for the right answers, focus on whether you're even asking the right questions.

Because when you get quiet enough to ask the right questions -- when you stop grasping for what you don't truly need -- you create space. And in that space, what you actually need has room to find you!