September has come as quickly as she usually does.

After the dance and flow of summer… expectations of landing swiftly and gracefully into productive routines and rhythms are usually pretty high…

You may have hit your stride or if it’s been less than a smooth landing, know that you’re not alone.

It’s easy to feel behind, a little overwhelmed and also revved up as you refocus on WHAT you are going to accomplish during the rest of the year.

It’s also easy to forget to pay attention to HOW you’re showing up and the energy you’re bringing with you, which will ultimately drive your experience and your results.

There’s an increasing number of messages that say that in order to create success you need to HUSTLE. Which seems a little too close to the “have more, do more, be more, work harder, move faster, jump higher”… thread.

No pain, no gain baby!

To hustle is to move hurriedly or unceremoniously in a specified direction. To obtain by forceful action or persuasion. Or otherwise defined as busy movement and activity. 

Is continuously pushing harder, moving faster and using persuasion on yourself and others, really the only way to success?

I get that #hustle can be sexy.  

And I also think that reflective of a lot of sexy things out there, they perpetuate the belief that you are not enough, are harmful to your experience and unsustainable.

#hustle fuels scarcity. 

I’m not saying that there isn’t work to be done. Work that requires energy, commitment, perseverance and courage… I’m suggesting that there is a better way of doing it.

So, what’s the alternative?

Harmony. 

The harmony of something is the way in which its parts are combined into a powerful arrangement. Just like a conductor, who focuses specifically on individual areas in the orchestra to simultaneously produce notes that align together to create music.

Harmony is alignment. When you are centered, empowered, open and aligned you can navigate your world with intention, grace and more ease. Your energy expands and you become a magnet for attracting and experiencing success on your terms.

#harmony fuels abundance. 

Sometimes shifting from hustle to harmony is subtle, other times it’s big…rarely comfortable.  

With the launch of my upcoming program I’ve felt a lot of pressure. It’s exciting and daunting.

Last week kicked off with a whole lot of hustle… and with a lot of balls in the air, I started juggling faster, staying up later, making quicker decisions, setting higher expectations and pushing harder. And my inner dialogue made a sharp judgmental turn into a mish-mash of unforgiving conversations.

I dropped balls, I lost work, I over-committed, I ignored my intuition and made decisions that I then had to very uncomfortably change. Nothing flowed and in my haste to pump up the jam and get all the things done… I hustled my confidence and trust in myself out the door on my way to exhaustion. 

I basically kicked off September from a place of scarcity and tried to hustle my way out of it.

So, here’s what I’ve done (and am doing) to shift back into harmony:     

1. Stopped and re-grounded. Went to the beach, got on my yoga mat, journaled and I’ve been having some deeply vulnerable and valuable conversations. #gratitude
2. Got to the root of the stories that were the driving forces. A fabulous cocktail of fear, inadequacy, and a good splash of impostor syndrome.
3. Revisited MY definition of success. Very specifically what that looks like AND feels like for the rest of the year.
4. Started to simplify and restructure the plan. Based on aligned, achievable outcomes AND on my non-negotiable experience.
5. Began some new kinder, more compassionate and curiosity driven inner dialogue leading to AHA moments with priceless insights.

So, from one imperfect human to another…

I invite you to take some time to notice the source of energy that you are drawing on as you set yourself up to knock those year end goals out of the park.

Define success on your terms and ensure your measurements are anchored in your values.

Chances are it’s not going to be as sexy as some of those curated Instagram feeds…

But it will feel beautifully, deeply aligned and will create very powerful ripples in the rest of your year.

And if you need a place to start… try taking 30 minutes to pause and fill out your  MID YEAR REFLECTION & CELEBRATION WORKBOOK. (I promise you, it’s not too late) As always, I’ve received lots of feedback about how this process was exactly what someone needed to ground themselves, remember what’s important, evaluate where they are at before launching forward. ***Please remember to download it fully to your desktop and save the file, then re-open before filling it out.

Here’s to more harmony, grace and ease!