Last Sunday I got the wrong thread. I was speaking at an “in charge of change” menopause event. I was in a room with around 20 lovely ladies delivering a calming lava bead jewellery making workshop. Only, before I left my studio I had taken some of the thread options out of the bag thinking they wouldn’t be needed because I had just bought some nicer, fancy coloured thread and elasticated options. The thread was the same size but I hadn’t checked to see if it worked well or not. I assumed it would be the same as the thread I always used.
How wrong I was, lots of the ladies struggled to get the elastic/fancy coloured thread through the beads. Beading needles were snapping right, left and centre and I was thinking to myself “why didn’t I just stick to what I knew worked?”.
You see, the other thread slips through the beads like a knife through butter, and this new pile of monstrosity was spiking stress levels instead of reducing them. I was ready to halt that part of the workshop when I saw something interesting happen.
As I watched the session unfold, I noticed some ladies were finding ways of doing it. I saw the ones who had figured it out help each other. I saw inner strength and tenacity come out and remembered how resilient we are as humans. Some of the ladies were persevering and wouldn’t be beaten by the beads. Some were clearly frustrated and had to instinctively self regulate and problem solve to finish their bracelet. A few decided that they would prefer a ready made one. There was no correct or better response. Every response was unique and different and individual to that person.
It got me thinking… all of these responses are the type of responses we have in life when it comes to various types of situations. This is especially true with the current cost of living crisis (if you are stressed about money right now see the bottom of this email for something that will help).
Yes, if it is in our power to do so, sometimes we have to help others and share our skills. Other times we might need to reach out and ask for help. Sometimes we have to dig down deep and find our sisu (strength, resilience, grit and perseverance) and battle through obstacles. Other times we have to self regulate and learn how to problem solve our way through a situation. There may also come a time where we have to say “no, this isn’t for me” and decide not to continue down a certain path.
All of these responses are different forms of strength.
You’ll be pleased to hear that the rest of the session was beautifully calm and relaxing. I took the ladies to my island of calm for a creative visualisation and then anchored their calm to the smell of my calming super-blend of essential oils and they applied it to their lava bead bracelets, so they can revisit that state whenever they need to.
Whatever threads you have in front of you in the week ahead, here’s to tapping into your skills and strengths and finding a way to making something beautiful with what you have before you.
Vik x
P.S If you would like to grab yourself a ready made lava bead bracelet and calm kit you can get one here
P.P.S If you are looking for ways to create more simplicity in your life and not have to constantly trade time for money check out my friend Lisa Johnson’s free challenge: The Race to Recurring Revenue. I did it a few years back and it is amazing if you want to turn your passion or hobbies into profit/passive income.
PPPS. If you were one of the lovely ladies on my workshop last sunday, I hope you enjoyed it and it was lovely to meet you.
*affiliate link. I am partnering with Lisa this year, as I know how amazing this challenge is and how it has benefited me personally.