Insights from a week off work (+ social media break)

It's rare that I write emails on a Saturday afternoon. But, as the house is quiet (Maya and Gil are napping), it’s raining and I just brewed some fresh coffee, it feels cozy writing to you now.

I also feel really inspired to share with you some of the insights and reflections that came through from taking a week off work + break from social media.

If you’re following me on social media you might have seen that Gil and I decided to take a week off work to be at home while Maya is at nursery. It was an opportunity for us to get some time together, just the two of us.

I was craving time to ‘do nothing’ + time to process everything this year has brought... And it brought A LOT.

I found so much value in cocooning, quieting down and reflecting. Especially after such a year… Truthfully, 2020 has left me feeling a little drained. How about you?

So today I'm excited to get to share some of these reflections with you...

Sometimes you have to disconnect to reconnect.

There were a few questions I was sitting with for a while now, both in my business and in my personal life. As I allowed the space and silence that was needed, the answers have arisen. I didn’t try to find the answers, but instead I surrendered to the questions.

Most of us, human beings, don’t like uncertainty. Not knowing makes us feel uncomfortable, so we often push and rush to find answers and solutions. On this path, we lean towards logic and block our intuitive wisdom.

Sometimes (ok, most times!), the biggest gift you can give yourself is to shut down all the “noise” so you can actually listen to what’s true. Disconnecting helps reconnecting.

When your nervous system is in overdrive… turn on the tv.

On Monday, after wrapping up some work stuff, I took a big deep breath and asked myself:

“What do you want to do?” “What is your mind, heart, soul and body craving?”

I heard a rant...

"Backup your computer"

"Organize your desktop and folders"

"Get some admin work done"

"Organize the guest room (which has become a storage room in last few of months)"

My nervous system was in overdrive and my brain struggled switching off!

Knowing that it takes time for me to shift from doing mode to relaxing mode, I made myself a big cup of hot chocolate and watched Netflix. Oftentimes the thing that feels best first when I'm caring for myself during overwhelm, exhaustion, or navigating a tough experience is to turn on the tv.

As I let myself get wrapped up in the comfort of something that doesn't require any brain activity, the chatter got quieter and quieter.

Trust your inner knowing.

For months, I had the deep knowing that I needed to take time off work (including time away from social media). But instead of trusting that knowing, I kept postponing it, telling myself...

“it’s not the right time”

“your business won't survive if you take a break”

I told myself stories. I was talking myself out of trusting my intuition.

Our intuition often guides us towards a path that is less mainstream. It often means making a decision (big or small) that’s not ‘conventional’. So we end up spending so much time and energy trying to convince ourselves of something else because we believe it would be easier to do something more predictable.

One morning, a couple of weeks ago, through journaling, it became clear to me that in the last few months I made some wrong calls. Nothing major, but in that moment I realized...

I was out of alignment and therefore I’ve let logic (“rational” thinking) override my intuition.

I started feeling the physical manifestation of being out of alignment. My work and mission are all about helping women listen to and trust themselves. I believe so much in coming from that place of tuning in and trusting... yet I was missing a huge opportunity to do that for myself.

I looked at my calendar and blocked a whole week off work.

I could have made this mean that I can’t trust myself…

We often make inaccurate moments mean that we shouldn’t keep trusting what we feel we know.

Fortunately, I’ve been on this path for a while now, so I know this is an opportunity to strengthen my inner self trust vs. berating myself.

The quality of our lives is determined by the quality of the questions we ask ourselves.

On Wednesday Gil and I sat down with a pile of papers, notebooks and a handful of sharpies (coffee besides us, of course) to reflect on the year behind us and set intentions for the year ahead of us. We journaled on meaningful questions. We talked about our vision and dreams. We visualised our future and wrote down our 5 years dreams. Both personal and mutual.

Pausing, reflecting, asking yourself meaningful questions, thinking about what matters to you most and what you want to experience in your life is how you create an intentional meaningful life.

(It’s the antidote to drifting -- when you find yourself pulled off course, not sure how you got to where you are)

I'm sure this will come as no surprise, but this week off helped me be so much more present.

With myself and with my family.

And lastly, without a doubt, the biggest thing takeaway from this week was to listen and trust myself, always.

I hope that's what you'll take away from these reflections, too.

Love, Naama

p.s. I'm taking discovery calls in these final weeks of 2020 for clients who are interested in working 1:1 with me in 2021. Fill out this application form and I'll reach out to set up a free 45-minute call to discover more about this program and find out if we are a good fit. Can't wait to connect!