Save me, 3-day weekend!
Here's the meme that stopped me in my tracks:
It spoke to me because that was me five years ago.
And ten years ago.
And many years before that too.
And of course now, looking back, it's laughable that a 3-day weekend would fix my crippling burnout...
or be the time I finally caught up on all the dirty laundry [including the laundry that's been sitting at the bottom of the basket for months]...
or inspire me to grocery shop responsibly and meal prep for the rest of the week...
or give me extra time for a much-needed deep clean of my home...
or clean out the 38,491 unread emails in my inbox...
or magically rebalance any wobbly, off-balance part of my life at all!
Because when our energy deficit is so gargantuan, one more weekend day is just a drop in the bucket.
And it reminds me of something my therapist when I lived in Portland ten years ago used to say:
"We're always moving away from something or towards something, it's up to us." -M.S.
My 3-day weekends used to be all about moving away from (aka escaping) my overworking and burnout.
Now*, my 3-day weekends are about moving towards what makes me feel the most alive.
On Sunday, I joined 7 other women and an 11-person New Orleans-style brass jazz band to dance in my 2nd San Francisco Carnaval parade.
And I was wearing a silver jumpsuit, a handmade sparkly crown, a fake ponytail, and a hot pink cape!
My intentions for the parade were: joy, radiance, and embodied magic.
And boy oh boy, did I experience all three!
Can you tell that from this picture?
A pic from our magical afterparty at Blondie's Bar, photo taken by my friend Jyoti.
Was your 3-day weekend about moving away from something or moving towards something?
And no blame or judgement on your answer either way.
A more important question...
How do you really want your 3-day weekends [and life] to be?
Do you want more fun, more joy, more rest, more time in nature, more presence with your loved ones, more solo time? Something even better?
Whatever it is, it's possible!
Sometimes, the only thing in the way of us going for what we need and want is the belief that we don't "deserve" it.
Our patriarchal culture tells us that everyone else has to be taken care of first.
It also tells us that if other people aren't taken care of before we follow what we need or want, we're being selfish.
But just like an old operating system on your laptop that's slowing everything down, it's time for an update.
*My journey of shifting from 3-day weekends hoping to be saved from my incessant overworking to designing 3-day weekends around what I need and want wasn't an instant or easy process and certainly not a perfect before and after story...
The main way I know that things are different is that after a 3-day weekend, my Tuesday mornings are more full of joy than dread.
I want that for you too.
If you're looking to invest more of your time, energy, and attention towards what genuinely matters to you, and you're tired of trying to make that big shift on your own, join us in the next Outgrow the Grind women's circle.
We start on June 11th, and registration is open until all six spots are filled or on June 10th at 12pm ET, whichever comes first.
Wishing you moments of delight this week,
Stacy
PS. If you want to watch a little clip of me dancing with the Hot Pink Feathers Showgirls for Peace in San Francisco's Carnaval parade, check us out here. Our short little segment starts at 2:09:20 and ends at 2:11:07.
