Life would be easier without the friction of constraints. But sometimes its the friction that gives us the path to accomplishing great things.
Over the past month, I’ve been working through friction that has come with shortages of my ADHD meds.
There are moments when I feel energized and eager to embark on a big project or tackle a big task, and then I hit a wall.
Faced with an unprecedented challenge, I’ve tried a paradigm shift:
Instead of trying to push through, I’ve scaled back.
I’ve tempered my expectations, cut my agenda, and built in more space for rest as necessary.
I’ve maintained the structure of my rituals to keep me on schedule. As hard as it’s been some days, I’ve made it to the gym — even if sometimes I need an extra nap before or after, or can’t do everything I’d like to do.
I’ve lowered the volume on my inner critic while raising the volume on the voice of self-compassion.
And I’ve reconnected to the joy of the process.
The results have been interesting and unexpected.
In the gym, over the past 2 weeks I’ve hit PRs in several of my lifts. My body has been in less pain.
Despite wavering energy and focus, I’ve managed to keep up with publishing a daily blog and two separate weekly newsletters. I’ve been teaching more yoga classes than usual, and serving clients with more focus.
For many women with ADHD, “life admin” tasks like laundry are often the first to fall through the cracks when the friction in other parts of life get to be too much.
And yet those tasks are still getting done. I may not be getting to every item on my to-do list, but I’m staying afloat.
Sometimes that’s the win, and choosing to see it in that way has been helpful.
The angle in from which we view any situation dictates how we see it.
In life, angles are everything. The same is true in the sky.
Navigating Friction With Structure
My challenges have been mirrored by the astrology of the moment.
Many planets have been aligning in “square” aspects — a 90º angle that reflects friction. Although these aspects can be tense, they also can open the door to innovation and new ways of working.
That’s especially true in this moment, as the full moon in Aquarius peaks in a square to Uranus in Taurus and Jupiter in Gemini perfects its opening square to Saturn in Pisces.
Although these two events are separate, they are related. Think of this as having friction in two separate parts of your life. Nothing is contained in its own silo.
And sometimes the way we navigate one impasse can give us a clue for navigating the other.
Jupiter Square Saturn
Jupiter’s square to Saturn has been building for a while and perfects on August 19 (5:46 pm ET, 17º27’).
Like last week’s Mars/Saturn square, which is still part of this dialogue, Jupiter square Saturn brings friction between conflicting energies.
Jupiter is the planet of expansion, wisdom, optimism, and possibility. Saturn is the planet of limits, restrictions, and realities.
Jupiter in Gemini is soaring over the vast landscape in a hot-air balloon, while Saturn in Pisces is like swimming with a lead vest weighing you down.
Jupiter square Saturn can feel like an impasse we must navigate.
We want to accomplish big things, but we also must deal with the reality of a schedule and our life obligations.
You still have to do the dishes and the laundry, clean the house, walk the dog, take care of your kids if you have any, and take care of yourself.
Trying to find a way through this can be frustrating and exhausting.
Jupiter and Saturn are in mutable signs, so this energy is shifting. It can feel like a constant back and forth that we must navigate.
Full Moon in Aquarius Square Uranus: Disrupting the Status Quo
At the same time, today’s full moon in Aquarius (2:25 pm ET, 27º15’) brings focus to another friction, as the Sun in Leo and Moon in Aquarius are sitting in a square to Uranus in Taurus.
Uranus is the planet of sudden change, innovation, and breakthroughs. It’s alignment with the full moon illuminates something that’s ripe for disruption, or at least a paradigm shift.
Sometimes when we’re feeling stuck in a project, all we need to move forward is a shift in how we view the situation or how we approach it.
What new insights emerge when you change your perspective?
A Paradigm Shift in Productivity
The ways in which I work aren’t typical. I often write in the gym, with small breaks to move. I have a particular style of teaching that isn’t the norm. My structures don’t look like typical structures.
Many people view my methods as eccentric and odd.
They may disrupt the status quo of what most people expect work to look like, but they work for me.
I like to think of them as revolutionary.
Sometimes all we need is a small change, a shift in paradigm, a new way of looking at things, to make something work.
In a world that seeks for us to conform, embracing your difference may be the paradigm shift that we need to thrive.
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