You Don't Need To Push

There is often an internal voice that insists on doing more, being better, or staying ahead. For ambitious, driven, high-achieving people, this pressure can feel constant. Instead of trying to silence it, or change it, this practice helps you notice it with awareness. You’ll begin creating space between who you are and the voice that pushes you. This is where conscious self-leadership begins.

Transcript

Hello and welcome. Today we're going to notice where pressure comes from and see if we can explore the possibility that it's not you. So let's start by getting into a comfortable position. Just settle in. You can do this seated or lying down. And if it feels good for you, Go ahead and gently close the eyes or take a soft gaze at a spot in front of you. And let's take a few slow, Deep breaths, Inhaling through the nose and exhaling from the mouth. Good. Let's do two more of those. Just inhale through the nose and exhale from the mouth. Last one. Big, Deep inhale through the nose and exhale from the mouth. Brilliant. So in this meditation today, We're going to explore the feeling of internal pressure, That constant push to do more, Be better, Stay ahead. We're going to attempt to gently separate that pressure from your core, From who you are, Because achievement and productivity do not define us. What makes us who we are has nothing to do with what we do. And so the goal today is not to eliminate that internal pressure, But simply to notice it and get curious about it instead of automatically obeying it. So continue to breathe deeply and slowly. Just bring your awareness to your body, Noticing your body's contact with the chair beneath you or the couch or floor or bed, Wherever you are. Just notice how your body's being supported. Notice where pressure might live in your body. It may be in the form of tightness or maybe a sensation in the chest or the shoulders, The jaw, The stomach, The forehead. Some of us sometimes furrow our brow. We might feel a sort of anxious feeling in the stomach. Just notice what's true for you, What's present. Where is that pressure living in your body? And then take a moment to become aware of your inner dialogue, Those thoughts that might be running on a loop in the back of your mind. Maybe something like, I can't fall behind. If I stop, Everything will pile up. I have to stay on top of this. I have too much to do. I don't have time to slow down. Whatever it might sound like for you, Just notice again, We're not fixing, We're not silencing that voice. We're just noticing what it is. And I want to offer the reframe that the voice inside of us, That pressure, That pressure was developed for a reason. It likely helped you at some point to stay responsible, To be competent, To be prepared, Ready, Safe. This internal pressure we put on ourselves, It's meant to be protective. Its intention is not malicious. Our nervous system doesn't intend to stress us out. It doesn't intend to push us beyond our capacity. And so, Just imagine that the pressure that you feel, That you're placing on yourself, Imagine it as just a small part of your whole makeup, Not all of you, It's not who you are. You are not someone who has to always be moving. That's only a part of you. And see if you can notice what this internal pressure might be trying to protect you from. Ask yourself the question, All this pressure I'm placing on myself, What is it trying to protect me from? You don't need to answer this fully, Just notice what comes up. I'm going to invite you now to create a cue, A signal for your nervous system to use when you feel that pressure to bring yourself back into grounding and taking a moment of pause to relax the nervous system. So this might be pressing your feet into the floor or maybe gently squeezing your hands. Just familiarize yourself with what is going to be your cue when you feel that pressure. Maybe it's just another deep inhale and a very long exhale in through the nose and out from the mouth. That's going to be your way of recentering and grounding yourself. When the thoughts are going wild, The pressure is on, You're noticing that tension and that feeling like you have to keep going, You cannot stop. In those moments, Just one grounding physical cue to remind yourself that you are safe, You are making progress, You are doing your best, And you have the right to take a pause. Let's take one final deep breath in through the nose and out from the mouth. Just see if you can allow any tension that might be lingering to soften, Even if it's just one or two percent. I'm going to offer you the reminder that the pressure is not your personality, It's not your identity, It's just a pattern that your nervous system has learned. And we can interrupt those patterns with awareness. And so as you continue with your day today, See if you can just notice any moments throughout the day when that pressure shows up. And when it happens, You don't need to fix it, Just recognize it and try just that one thing, That one pause, Grounding, Physical cue, Squeezing the hands, Taking a deep breath, Pressing your feet into the floor, Whatever it is for you. And just give yourself that momentary pause before you continue on with whatever it is you're doing today. Thank you so much for joining me for today's meditation, Live Radically.