I made it to Dallas!!! It's been an amazing couple of weeks with moving and travel and goodbyes and hellos.
The thing that really stood out, as I was going through this moving process, is there's a lot, A LOT, of things to do.
Fact alert: Moving is the third most stressful event in life, following death and divorce (ref: Employee Relocation Council).
The thing that really stood out, as I was going through this moving process, is there's a lot, A LOT, of things to do.
Fact alert: Moving is the third most stressful event in life, following death and divorce (ref: Employee Relocation Council).
So it was no surprise, I was feeling overwhelmed as I was going through the packing process and trying to get everything situated. I was leaving some stuff in Virginia, taking some stuff to Dallas, trying to keep my house clean, get ready for tenants, etc. Did I mention I was traveling to Hawaii for a retreat just a few days before I needed to move out?
There were SO many things going on. And I felt the need to get it all done and get it all done perfectly.Sound familiar to you, Jomana? I felt like I had to do everything right...as if somebody was going to come in and give me a grade on the way that I moved.
So like any good overachiever, I got extremely stressed out because of it. I needed that A+.
And all of a sudden, everything became extremely difficult. I felt like everything and everyone needed me and I just couldn’t do anything at all. It was paralyzing.
So, like any regular person, I realized this situation called for acupuncture (lol!).
As I was lying at my appointment staring at the ceiling...
as you only can when you have a bunch of needles sticking out of your body…
forced to just be alone with yourself - mind, body and soul...
I realized something profound.
I realized I was moving from this place – MY HOME – that I had spent my whole life in. The prep, the packing, all the “things” that had to be done, that's not what mattered. What really mattered to me were my relationships. My family, my friends and my community that made VA my home.
Wanna know a secret? My love language is Quality Time (you can find out yours here). Knowing this is how I feel loved, I laid there and realized...you know what? I'd rather be spending my final time in VA with people. The stuff to do, whether it got done or not, nobody was going to die because of it. Frankly, things would be just fine.
After that clarity, I decided to maximize the time I could spend with people. My new project to ace became time with loved ones. I made an effort to hang out...even when something had to be done. It could wait.
And many times, in that quality time, things got taken care of. The love poured out with all the help people showered me with. In fact, my packing got done (thank you friends and mom!). Everything got taken care of AND I had a ball of a time doing it.
Instead of being a stressful life event, this move was one most joyful times in my life.
The big takeaways?
There were SO many things going on. And I felt the need to get it all done and get it all done perfectly.Sound familiar to you, Jomana? I felt like I had to do everything right...as if somebody was going to come in and give me a grade on the way that I moved.
So like any good overachiever, I got extremely stressed out because of it. I needed that A+.
And all of a sudden, everything became extremely difficult. I felt like everything and everyone needed me and I just couldn’t do anything at all. It was paralyzing.
So, like any regular person, I realized this situation called for acupuncture (lol!).
As I was lying at my appointment staring at the ceiling...
as you only can when you have a bunch of needles sticking out of your body…
forced to just be alone with yourself - mind, body and soul...
I realized something profound.
I realized I was moving from this place – MY HOME – that I had spent my whole life in. The prep, the packing, all the “things” that had to be done, that's not what mattered. What really mattered to me were my relationships. My family, my friends and my community that made VA my home.
Wanna know a secret? My love language is Quality Time (you can find out yours here). Knowing this is how I feel loved, I laid there and realized...you know what? I'd rather be spending my final time in VA with people. The stuff to do, whether it got done or not, nobody was going to die because of it. Frankly, things would be just fine.
After that clarity, I decided to maximize the time I could spend with people. My new project to ace became time with loved ones. I made an effort to hang out...even when something had to be done. It could wait.
And many times, in that quality time, things got taken care of. The love poured out with all the help people showered me with. In fact, my packing got done (thank you friends and mom!). Everything got taken care of AND I had a ball of a time doing it.
Instead of being a stressful life event, this move was one most joyful times in my life.
The big takeaways?
- Don’t sweat the small stuff
- Let go of those things that ‘have’ to be done. They are just things at the end of the day. It’s the beings that make the real impact on our hearts and lives.