On every corner of the internet you’ll find some wellness dealer pushing chill pills because apparently calm is the only way to meet your highest self.
To me, the idea of one static state granting you access to all areas of life is in some ways pipe dreams.
We all know that one person who tried to zen their way through life and eventually had to watch their ambitions go up in smoke because what they actually needed was a little bit of fire.
I like calm. Calm has excellent PR. But I don’t believe it should have a monopoly on your nervous system.
Because life doesn’t come at you in one mode.
Some moments definitely require you to take a step back. But there are others that need you to make something happen. There are times where you need to retreat into yourself, lights low and listening for what’s underneath the noise. And there are other times where you need to be able to pull yourself out of the deep, dark, rabbit hole that is overthinking.
In ladies’ terms: you can’t show up to every function in the same outfit. But that is exactly what some of you are doing.
State-shifting is learning how to don the right fit in the right rooms.
Even though the range of human states is almost endless, the way I see it, most of the shifts we need to make are in one of four core directions.
Up. Down. In. Out.
You can go Up when life requires more energy, courage, presence or fire.
Down when you need rest, peace, or to turn the volume down a little bit.
In when there’s something beneath the surface you really should be listening to.
And Out when you’ve spent quite enough time inside your own head and need to reconnect with the world beyond it.
The thing is, none of them are the actual destination. There are no spiritual brownie points for living permanently In, and nobody needs to be Out here performing their way through every waking hour.
The power is in knowing how to move.
Once you know which direction you need – and have a map of how to get there and back – you’re no longer stuck wearing the same version of yourself everywhere life takes you.
You have range. You have options.
And suddenly, that wellness dealer on the corner trying to sell you calm as the answer to everything starts to look a little understocked.
