I have a quick trick that’ll save your precious time and energy.

Part of you will want to tell your partner and friends about this because it’s so easy. Why wouldn’t everyone do it?

On the other hand, part of you will want to keep the unfair advantage to yourself.

We’re in a rush. Our time is short and overflowing with tasks. It’s not often that we slow down enough to hear the guidance of our inner wisdom.

Looking to our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and social media for answers is typical and awfully convenient. We witness their lives, make judgments of their success, and may think, Oh, I’ll just do that.

We all yearn for the comforts of certainty. Whether knowing we have a safe place to sleep, a reliable car to drive, a paycheck coming in two weeks, or a partner who loves us, our fundamental human needs are to feel safe and secure.

We also crave variety, spontaneity, freedom, and ease.

I’d spent my entire life caught up in the hustle. Feeling compelled to prove my worth, to earn respect, to earn love. Always busy. Always doing.

I’d made a great deal of progress in therapy and recovery rooms. I’d worked my steps and grew self-awareness, self-compassion, and acceptance. In many aspects of my life, I was “better.” I’d learned to surrender.

I’ve found that when I’m stuck and unsure how to move forward, there’s always another way that I’m not thinking about or present to — maybe not necessarily a way out, but through.

The key is coming back to yourself. To pause and allow your mind and body to relax enough for the answers to present themselves.

December tends to be the most stressful, busiest month of the year. It's the time when we're torn between our personal commitments and priorities and going hard at work to finish strong on the year's goals, projects, and sales.

And while we may really want it to be the most wonderful time of the year, our to-do lists overflow with expectations and obligations, causing time stress, overwhelm, and frustration.

Surely, I thought, there’s gotta be other options for how I’m spending my time, talents, and energy. I daydreamed of starting my own business. Sharing stories of my journey. Helping others.

Yet, newly married with a mortgage, car payment, aging pets, and a shit load of fear, could I really walk away from my “good job” to launch an entrepreneurial passion project?

After the photo, Seth casually turned to me and said something expectant like, “How are you?” He looked directly into my eyes with a look of genuine sincerity to hear my response, and I froze.

I felt like a lost child standing in front of a wise guru. Tears instantly streamed down my face, and I melted into a soggy heap of overwhelm.

My opportunity is to have self-awareness when I’ve created an unrealistic expectation or a fantasy story where I’m hyper-focused on the outcome.

Outcomes kill potential and possibility. Outcomes kill desire.