What Would Tenderness Say?

Changing the voice in your head.

Been beating myself up just a tad lately.

Which is unusual for me.

I’m preternaturally optimistic. Not in a delusional way. But in a grounded “looking honestly at what’s going on, I believe it’s possible” way.

There’s a ton of shifting happening under my feet. Some due to circumstance (like all of us). But, much of my own creation.

I’m clear on who I am. On what matters to me. On what I do and don’t want in, and for, my life.

And, yet. And, yet.

I’ve been struggling to center the elements I know in my bones are both the most joyful and nourishing, and also what I’m beginning to sense are going to grow into the more significant points of focus for Future JF. Mostly on a professional level.

Yes, I’m running more very cool experiments, like my recent decision to take on 2x20 coaching clients and run a retreat in October. But, there’s a big element of physical making I keep trying to step back into. To center. And my current ventures are so perpetually hungry for my attention that they keep pulling me back into the slipstream (on days, more like a firehose) of tasks and processes needed to keep them humming, while I figure out what my next season looks like, then go deeper into building it.

It’s such an interesting dance between the pull to create something new that could and would take all of your time and energy, and the very practical need to support and nurture what you already have. At some point, something’s gotta give. It’s a very natural thing. And, I’m at that point now.

So, it’s decision time. I’ve navigated these transitions so many times in my life.

Yes, calls need to be made. Things need to happen. Effort needs to be given. Resources need to be allocated. Ideas need to become reality. But the way that all unfolds, the timing, stakes, stress and pressure are more a matter of style and choice than I sometimes like to admit.

What I need to keep coming back to is the idea of grace, especially self grace. Getting okay with not just making it all happen, but keeping the experience of it human along the way.

I keep asking…

What would tenderness do?

If I treated myself with the same grace, space, and tenderness that I offered to a beloved, or a friend in a similar moment, what would that look like?

And, how might I extend the same to myself?

To be tender with myself. To not push quite so hard. And, to let savoring, room to breathe, and kindness play a bigger role in the unfolding of an evolution I cannot wait to arrive.

And, I wish the same for you.

With a whole lotta love & gratitude,

Jonathan

---

Wake-Up Call #60 | What would tenderness say to you, now?

Ask yourself these same questions.

We’re all going through moments, pretty much all the time. Especially now.

Look at the places where you have agency to not only make decisions, take actions, and move things forward, but also to give yourself grace, and celebrate the fact that you’re here, and you have within you the capacity to not only find joy along the way, but to change the way to bring more peace and ease into the pursuit of possibility.

As always, walk with it, think on it, feel into it. And, if you’re inclined, share your thoughts in the comments.