How to Melt the Monkeys of Resistance
Hate self-promotion? A 5-min. practice to persist through Mostly Brave things
Welcome Mostly Brave Souls! Let’s express our wild hearts and authentic voices with less Grrrr (fear) and more Ahhh (joy). Do the Monkeys of Fear try to stop you from doing hard things? Today’s 5-minute practice is for us (jump down). Plus a song for our sponsor, Mama Earth.
Flow, my love. We want this feeling of ease...
But sometimes it’s more like this:
Why persist with this mess?
There’s something you want: to be, to feel, to make, to share…
Then something gets in the way. Obstacles. Inner and outer.
Our voyage is to hang in there, despite and with the sh*t that gets in the way.
Wah! “But I don’t like doing the hard work of…”
Do you struggle with what’s typically called self-promotion? Yikes. Same. Horribly.
I publish here on Substack because I crave connecting with you. Other Mostly Brave souls who appreciate my wacky approach to creative healing: facing our inner Monkeys (fear-based self-talk), and listening to Soul (gut intuitive knowing), so we can follow our Hearts to create our desires and callings.
Substack is a beautiful place for us to hang. Y’all move my heart daily, by sharing your deep, wonderful, brave stories.
But how will you find me? Self-promo?! 😳 I get overwhelmed by marketing advice. The waters do clear up. First, re-frame ‘self-promo’ into an invitation. Then create a well-crafted, welcoming space where people can feel seen and heard.
In January, I dreamt of rearranging furniture, to re-do my Substack home. My Soul offered lovely advice on voice and brevity.1 Substack Mentor
provides expert guidance on how to build an effective community here. Great! Still…For me, these tasks are hard labor, like giving birth to Sasquatch triplets:
To articulate how my work can support your voyage.
To describe the value of the unpopular work of facing your fears, plus, make it quick n’ catchy!
To invite you to pay for what I offer.
Monkeys of Fear hate self-promotion!
So they used all their tactics: “I’ll do it next week, I'm feeling too yucky for that, I hate social media, yeah Tiktok, but it’s stupid…” All to protect me from an old, familiar FEAR:
I’ll do tons of heroic, hard work of Self Promotion, and no one will SHOW UP.
This can happen. Still, I’m committed to my dream: to connect with you here.
Nevertheless, she persisted.
This weekend I hosted our quarterly writer’s retreat. With support and feedback, I finally built a new ‘home’ to invite others to join Mostly Brave. Brave ask: please check out our new Welcome page. Does it resonate? Would you share it?
I’m grateful for a creative community (writer friends who helped me 🙏🏼).2 And even for my Monkeys (inner child protectors), who shared specific fears behind the resistance. When our worries are fully seen and heard, our fears can relax. 🐵 Right?
How do you persist, despite your fears? See you in the comments 💗
Today’s 5-minute practice: Paddle of Persistence
You have the answers within! May this 5-minute practice reveal your Power Paddler. This video features my ridiculous alter-ego Queen Poopicina sharing the potty-mouth, ‘Holy Sh*t’ 💩 version, plus a spontaneous song. Or, follow the steps below.
Paddle of Persistence: What helps me stick with it?
BREATHE deeply, softening any tense areas.
CONSIDER a situation that requires you to show up, to endure, to face difficulties, and to make progress, despite the challenges.
VISUALIZE paddling in a boat on a river, moving toward the sea. Notice the details of your boat, your surroundings, any colors, sounds, weather.
FEEL your hands on the paddle, pulling, and your muscles working hard. SEE how each stroke moves you forward, bit by bit.
RECALL an earlier time when you made it through tough challenges, and how it felt.
REFLECT: “To keep going feels...”
Make it Real: Creative prompts to persevere through difficulties
EXPLORE: Tell someone or journal about your experiences of making it through rough waters.
CREATE: Make the motions of actual paddling through and around challenges. Or draw this.
MANIFEST: This week, celebrate every tiny stroke you take toward your goals. Notice how you’re making good progress, even if it’s slower than you’d like.
🗣️ Mostly Brave Qs: do you resist doing that thing your gut knows will help? How do you persist?
If you’re on Substack, how do you do self-promotion? Going paid?
Thank you for persisting! Mostly Brave is brave enough. 💝 Thank you for sharing your story in the comments, dropping a heart, 💗 and sending this to someone who could use a boost. You just helped more of us be brave in a world running on fear.
Spontaneous Love Song for Mama Earth #213, La Push WA.
More to come, Mostly Brave souls!
“How to Co-create with Your Inner AI” …listen to your Soul: smart answers for your burning questions
Blessings to
; Terri Wardrup; ; Undersky dancers; brave SubStackSouls who encourage me to keep going: ; of; . You rock 🪨
I love this!!!
...keep it up...so cool to see such creative positive work happening in visualization and bravery...do you resist doing that thing your gut knows will help? How do you persist? --> probiotics and prebiotics are helpful...as for the self promotion i firmly believe that when we act as our authentic self, in person, on the air, in the world, over time that will resonate us whom we need to be talking and interacting with...just like here!!...persist and percolate...to the sun and for the fun...