In my previous blog, I talked about beginning again. You know when everyday life gets in the way of your goals then guilt and shame prevent you from restarting. That’s one level. Then there is a completely different and more serious level…the Wake-Up Call.

The Wake-Up Call usually involves a near life-threatening situation. It doesn’t matter what the situation is as long as your mortality comes into question. It can be from illness, accidents or even a crime perpetrated against you. In my case, it was illness.

I contracted pneumonia. I knew the moment it happened. I could feel something happening in my lungs. By the next day, I had a 101° fever and was down to approximately 15% breath capacity. I could inhale shallowly for 1.5 seconds. And it was not sore but painful to breathe. I actually went to bed that night wondering if I was going to wake up the next morning. The following night and I wondered the same thing. It had never occurred to me before that I wouldn’t wake up the following morning.

This probably shouldn’t have been a surprise to me because the Universe had been sending me messages for at least six months that I needed to take better care of myself. For the previous three years, I’d been putting my book and business first and my health second. For the next three weeks, I dropped everything and focused purely on my health. I was left no choice.

When I related my feelings before going to bed those two nights to my sister, she quoted some advice I’d given in her couple months prior. There is nothing like getting advice back that you’ve already given. It’s a slap in the face. Another component of the Wake-Up Call.

I made the necessary changes. My health comes first and my book and business come second. I’m doing yoga and meditation everyday. I make sure that I drink enough water to stay properly hydrated. I eat well. I exercise at least three times a week. I get enough sleep. I do my spiritual reading every day. I take my vitamins. All of this takes priority…period. And my thinking now is that that this priority will ultimately benefit my book and business, not hinder it. So, my suggestion to you would be make the appropriate changes in your life now before the Universe presents you with a Wake-Up Call. Don’t be left without a choice.

What a beautiful day! I just saw the first roadrunner of spring (it’s a Texas thing). Spring is here and another Earth cycle around the Sun begins again. Winter has subsided and nature’s rest break is over.

But we humans have different cycles. We have daily, weekly, monthly and yearly cycles depending on physical, mental and financial needs. What happens when those cycles are interrupted? What takes place when life happens and our expectations are overpowered? How do you react?

For me personally, sometimes it’s easy to get back on track and sometimes it’s not. For example, I just got back from a 4-day weekend. I expected to jump right back into work. I ate well, slept well and had a great time on my vacation yet I couldn’t get restarted yesterday. I did the bare minimum of communication and that was it. I felt such resistance and fear, that I was practically immobilized.

I felt guilty. I felt ashamed. And yet, I didn’t even know why. It didn’t make sense. Everything was in place to proceed. Yes, I have a daunting task to let enough people know about my book so as to build sales. But that didn’t stop me last week or the week before.

This has happened to me before and I’m sure it will happen again. Something happens that produces guilt or shame in me and I come to a stop. The key is working through these feelings as soon as possible. How does one do that?

Did I feel guilty about taking some time off? Probably. Did I feel ashamed that I left a large sum in the hotel safe where I stayed? Definitely (yes I went to Las Vegas and yes, I’m getting the money back). Or did I need another day of rest? Who doesn’t?

The Universe introduces a myriad of ways to get us to learn about ourselves. Sometimes it’s by forcing us to rest. Sometimes it’s by introducing situations that bring up difficult to deal with feelings. And usually that conflicts with our expectations of what we want. Challenges come up all the time and our diets, exercise programs, work and play get interrupted. For me to get re-centered, it took dealing with my feelings, reflected on all I had to grateful about, forgiving myself and doing some yoga and meditation yesterday. It worked and today, I begin again.