Letting Go of Expectations
After moving to Germany I had to make a decision.
Would I pursue a career as a video producer or my passion of helping others tell their stories. It was a decision to embrace my knowing or to go on showing up as I expected others expected me to show up.
It wasn’t a quick decision. Rather, it was a decision of what I wouldn’t tolerate day by day. As time moved forward I was less and less able to tolerate following a path that felt like a compromise.
The process of letting go
The way forward seemed slow and full of road bumps.
The biggest challenge I faced was letting go of ideas and identities that were no longer in alignment with where I wanted to go.
I had to also let go of an identity that made sense at one time but no longer served me. In my world that meant removing my video production business offerings from my website, something that took years to develop, and starting to use the term artist as it relates to my video/audio/installation work.
The benefits of letting go
Letting go made room for me to embrace and test new identities like story consultant and artist.
Today I’m writing this blog post from the KuBa artist residency where just yesterday I did a third test of the immersive audio experience. This is a project I had envisioned creating since 2019.
I didn’t get here by accident, although many unexpected things happened to get me here.
They all required that I first embrace the label of artist, not as a label of status but as a label of doing and being, of how I showed up in the world even when no one is watching.
And really for a long time very few people were watching because I compartmentalized my life, work, business and art worlds.
The importance of being in alignment
Reflecting on why this is so, I was probably thinking that the friends who follow me on Instagram would not want to know about my business or the details of my art projects.
Showing up on social media is not the litmus test of a good life.
But what is a test is being in alignment.
I’ve found that both for myself personally and with the artists and entrepreneurs I work with, being fractured, compartmentalizing our work and purpose takes time and energy.
Getting energy, getting into flow requires more than just putting the right habits into place.
Fundamentally it means stepping into the direction you want to go.
And sometimes that means letting go in order to create space for new ideas, connections, opportunities to fill the void.
Letting go is our life’s practice
We don’t let go and then find our forever flow.
As we move towards new stages of our life, our creative practice, of our work, we find more things we need to let go.
For me at the moment, it means letting go of self judgement.
This became apparent as I shared my work at the artist residency and my inner critic raised its voice.
Sometimes it is when we give ourselves space to think that we realize what it is we need to let go of next.
If this happens to you be curious and be gentle with yourself.
Listen to my artist residency journey
To hear about this part of my journey you can check out the latest podcast episode on This Beautiful Shot is Not an Accident where I speak to my fellow artist in residency, painter Jamila Barakat. This is episode two in a mini-series where we speak about our experience at the residency. You can hear the previous episode and listen to the next episode by visiting the website or subscribing to the podcast on your favorite podcast app.
A program to help you get into alignment
And if you want to get into alignment, click here to learn about the upcoming session of Find Your Authentic Voice, my 8-week signature program where I help purpose-driven artists and entrepreneurs.
We dive deep into your passion and purpose to find your aligned vision and then craft your story to help you share that vision with yourself and those you wish to serve.
We start August 9. If you sign up by Thursday, August 5 as you bonus you are invited to attend the August 7-8 weekend Direction Workshop.
Learn more here.