Backseat Drivers

May flowers also bring “construction season” around here. The collective frustration the area road work is causing is as thick as the traffic jams.

I’d love to use the numerous orange barrels and detour signs that are frequently rerouting me as the reasons for it being almost a month (gasp) since my last blog. But the delay is the result of a different kind of road block.

I’ve had a serious case of writer’s block. I was as stuck and frustrated as the I43 morning commuters’ being squeezed into one lane. 

And being blocked made no sense! 

I’m always full of motivating anabolic energy when I sit down to write to you because it’s a shared, creative process. I love hearing from you and learning how the ideas relate to your journey.

So, what was up with this road rage-like catabolic energy that was preventing me from putting words together? And how confusing that I was experiencing both kinds of energy at the same time!

Ah, perfectionism…you sneaky backseat driver you.

Perfectionism is a complex motivator. It drives me for sure. But it also takes an unnecessary detour that leads me away from my True self because it’s fueled by my insecurities. 

Initially, I tried avoiding the writer’s block all together by taking new routes and planning extra time for delays. But it didn’t work. My writing was still stuck because I wasn’t acknowledging my perfectionism as the interfering passenger. Self-judgment and impatience with this familiar part were preventing me from naming it. 

“My coaching niche is women struggling with perfectionism! How did I let myself get stuck in this…again?!”

Finally, I yielded. I invited PLAY (Passion, Love, Authenticity, You) to overcome my writer’s block. By reconnecting to myself in a more ease-filled, accepting way, I could safely take a look at what was causing my insecurities. I saw with self-compassion what influencers triggered my old patterns of perfectionism along with my fears around vulnerability. My writer’s block then made sense.

When I recognized I was using perfectionism to keep me safe, it lost its ability to keep me stuck. 

So, I released it because it wasn’t serving me. I then eagerly picked up my MAP (Movement, Authenticity, Presence) and pink highlighter again, and consciously chose where I wanted to go with my writing. Shifting this part of me to more opportunity-driven energy created fun ways to get back in the flow. (Momma, why are there sticky notes everywhere?)

And I even had less angst about the literal road construction around me! This shifting energy stuff ripples. 

I hope my experience moving through writer’s block gives you a sense of how the power of PLAY, a trusty MAP, and choosing to consciously shift your energy can support you through road blocks during construction season.

Reach out if you’d like me to ride through any with you. I always pack car snacks.