Throughout this first month of launching the DoYouMind.life website, I’ve been working with my team to continue to develop the site—and also living life, with all its ups and downs. I’ve been getting started with a huge undertaking; all the talk about Getting Started is real-life stuff, lived out in real time, with real successes and setbacks. 

This particular Starting has stretched me already in ways I couldn’t imagine before I was in it. While I’ve been a solo act in most of my other endeavors, this project is calling me to work with and lead a team. I’m having to learn to communicate my priorities to the team and to delegate tasks that I am used to doing myself. This is a different way of organizing my brain!

I’ve realized that much of my Project Manager’s job is managing me—reminding me to return to my core values when I get panicked over details. I haven’t always handled things as I wish I had, but my team members have given me grace; we have circled back, confronted the issues, and worked to understand each other’s motives and concerns, resolving the issues and growing in our knowledge of each other.

That kind of communication can only come from living whole-heartedly. My team members and I know that all of us are fallible, so we begin with the premise that each of the others has the best of intentions. By assuming this, there’s no need to waste time second-guessing why—we can move more quickly into what next.

During this first month of DoYouMind.life, my home state of Oklahoma has been pummeled by storms. Tornado and flood sirens have shrieked through the air for nearly two weeks; everyone here is tired and a little shell-shocked. Some of my team members have been directly affected by storm damage. And through all that, I’ve had my own share of personal challenges, including my mother’s fall last week that broke her hip and femur. So I feel as if I’ve been in crisis mode far too long, and it is, quite frankly, exhausting.

The thing is, that’s Life. You start something new, and it begins to gain momentum, and then circumstances threaten to derail all your efforts. How do you keep going then?

You call on your tribe. Your tribe is made up of all the people who know you and love you and believe in what you’re doing. They’re the people who can listen, really listen, to where you are in your struggles, without offering advice or telling you that you shouldn’t feel that way. They’re the people who aren’t afraid of messy, snotty tears, and they don’t hand you a tissue to make you stop crying. They hold your hand, give you hugs, and stroke your hair. They trust in you, even when you’re filled with self-doubt.

I count myself incredibly fortunate to have such a tribe, and I’ve called on them a lot lately. I’ve been able to talk about my fatigue and discouragement, but they don’t let me wallow in it. They have reminded me of the importance of good self-care: eat nutritious foods, hydrate, and spend time on my meditation cushion. They have helped me to remember to keep my heart open… to Love Anyway.

I want to spend time in future posts looking at ways we can offer and receive support for one another—what’s helpful and not-so-helpful. It’s a big and important topic. For now, though, I want to sit in Gratitude for all those who are close to me and who have supported me exactly as I need to be supported. To my tribe, I want to say, “Thank you.”

Until next time,