#WeekendCoffeeShare: How far do I lean in?

If we were having coffee, we would meet at Groundworks in North Hollywood off Chandler and Lankershim. I’d have a coffee cake and an iced coffee because it’s another hot day. It’s going to be high as 110 degrees (43 Celsius!).

To start off, I am happy to say I finished my grad school items. I finished my personal statement, my CV, and my transcripts. I can breath easy…for now. One less thing and a million more things to go.

Summer just begun but I felt the past couple of weeks, summer was excited to arrive early. I love the longer sunny days and the busy social calendar and of course, ice cream.

Lean in, lean in, lean in.  I love Lean In — it’s one of the most influential books I’ve read. I urge all people to read it because it’s got timeless advice you can carry through your life like “don’t leave before you leave” and “what would you do if you were not afraid?” I focus on my potential rather than my past accomplishments.

I carried this advice through my personal and professional life — it launched me out of my comfort zone and changed the way I approach opportunities.

As of recently, I feel I am up to my eyeballs. I asked myself “how far do I need to lean in?” Until my nose hits grindstone? Until I fall over?

Hello, I think I found my bandwidth — it just took a while to get to capacity. I’ve been pulling back a little bit just so I can make room for things I need to do. I tell myself, it’s only temporary. It’s good for my mental health. I’m not pulling back to stay away from it. I’m pulling back just so I don’t become resentful.

But the funny thing about pulling back is every time you pull back, something or someone pulls you in like you’re in demand. Ideas for projects spark with this sense of urgency and immediacy to pursue because you worry you’ll forget. As a person who is always brimming with ideas, doing this in a reactionary fashion with no end goal, no path to get to the goal leaves a lot of unfinished projects and walking in circles.

When I have ideas, but I am out of bandwidth, I write them down so at least I can remember it. I always go back to my “drawing board” to see these ideas, think to myself “why did I come up with it?” What were the goals of these ideas, what did I want to get out of it? What is the path? Is it something worth pursuing? Nowadays, I look to treat my energy like I treat my bank account.

What’s up for the coming week?

My timetable looked open this past week, but I felt I spent time putting out fires. I’m not sure about this week will look. It’s likely I’ll be making a day trip to San Jose this week. I’m not sure yet.

I am also planning our upcoming trip to Lake Naciemento for the 4th of July weekend.

Stay cool, everyone! 

In honor of today being so hot, here’s a photo of a trip to when we exploring mud caves in Anza Borrego (2012). The natives stayed in mud caves when it was hot in the late spring and summer time. It’s also 110 degrees in Anza Borrego.

Credit: The Smushed Peach

Interested in participating in the Weekend Coffee Share yourself? Come on over to Nerd in the Brain for more details! Check out the link party page or this wordpress tag for inspiration.