3 Principles Pauses: You’re Not Behind, Just Exhausted

That feeling of being behind is often not about time. It’s the drain of constantly thinking about yourself, trying to meet invisible standards.
In this short pause, you’ll explore how self-focus can quietly become self-criticism, and how shifting your attention back to life brings relief.
You're not behind. You're just ready to come home to yourself.

This reflection is part of 3 Principles Pauses. A series of short audio invitations to return to calm, clarity, and your deeper knowing.

Transcript

You're not behind.

You're just exhausted from thinking about yourself.

You might not even realize that's what's happening,

Because you might not realize that that voice that says you're behind is the same voice setting the impossible standards.

I often notice this with the business owners I work with.

All the time there is a voice in their head saying you need to do more.

You need to be on top of this or that or the other.

And all that does is create a massive amount of self-consciousness.

And then that same voice says I've set these standards.

Well maybe it doesn't even tell you that,

But there are standards and you're not keeping up with them.

But we've set the standards in the first place.

It's the same thinking that set the standards in the first place.

Often self-care can actually be self-criticism in disguise.

Well not really self-care,

More self-focus.

Checking yourself out,

Making sure you're doing okay all the time is often self-criticism in disguise.

We may think I'm looking after myself.

I'm caring about myself.

We may be thinking I'm just making sure that I'm doing the best that I can.

But have you noticed how critical and cruel the voice dictating all of that can be?

And because we're spending so much time focusing on us,

Checking ourselves out,

Making sure we're doing okay,

Thinking I should be further along,

What we're not doing is spending our time actually in the world doing things and getting real feedback about what we're doing from the actual real world.

I spent years and years being like this.

I spent years and years focusing on myself and thinking that I was behind.

So here's an invitation and the invitation is to ask a question.

Is my attention on me or on life?

I often say to my clients,

Are you in your head or in the world?

Because there's a world out there waiting for that wonderful glorious you to step into it.

But if you're spending all your time thinking about yourself,

Perhaps you're not doing that so much.

So next time you feel this way,

Ask that question.

Am I in me?

Is my attention on me or is it on life?

Reviews

This was so profound. It crowned my day and perspective with hope.

Thank you. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing without realizing it. How do I get out of my own head and into the world? I think I feel that the world is a scary place and it’s safer in my head…even though I’m pretty brutal to myself there, too.

Thank you very much. The perfect start to the day.

Great message that feels so on point right now for me ❤️