It’s been a little while, friends.

Things have been changing pace very quickly and I’m… adjusting. October was busy with travel/events and that continued into November, then things really slowed down from late-November to now. The traveling brought many highs and lots of energy, so I began to add more projects to my plate as I felt that drive. But… everything that goes up, must come down and as the momentum slowed down, I wasn’t sure how to find that energy again. I’m an introvert, so I retreated inward and ended up hyper focused on one of life’s main responsibilities: generating income. My adjusted focus sprinkled with some seasonal depression made it really hard to write, but more importantly to finish writing a piece. I started many blog posts and journal entries, but I couldn’t think about what I was trying to share or release in each piece. On top of it all, my blog is still very new, so I still question where I’d like to take her and if I’m doing things right. I understand it’s normal to have these reflections with a new project and I know things will change as I grow, but actually experiencing the reflections and uncertainty is very different.

So I’m juggling quite a few things: a change of pace, life’s responsibilities, emotional and mental investment, carrying out a vision, and questioning that vision. There’s a lot of duality and overlap; while I live for coexistence, living in it has been a task. I share this because I can imagine that I’m not the only one trying to wrap my mind around competing priorities of self, profession, and personal projects. It's by no means easy, there’s no road map, and sometimes, the detours are necessary .

All things considered, I remind myself to keep going. I may not finish writing the piece, but I started. I may be unsure if this job/endeavor is my next step, but I applied. I may not be energized at 100%, but I can give 75%. I may travel less distance today than I did yesterday, but I won’t figure out anything unless I keep moving. 

When I feel overwhelmed and my first response is to run and hide, this is how I think. This is how I am patient with myself, while also pushing myself. I acknowledge that I’m not operating at my highest level, but I also remind myself that I have dreams, goals, and people who look forward to what I have to share. The name of the game for me has been: keep moving. It’s not about going the distance every day, instead it’s making a little progress each day to add to the journey.

Travel Tip #21: Take small steps each day, but no matter what keep moving.

Here’s a few things that reminded me to keep going this week and helped me to finish writing this post.

1. “That thing you’re ignoring and not making time for. Stop ignoring it, start doing it” - my friend @frank_the future shared this on his IG story and it felt like one of those idk-who-this-is-for-but posts that was most definitely for me.

2. A few photos on IG - you may or may not know that I visited Tanzania in Africa this year as part of celebrating another trip around the sun. During the trip, we had a photographer @deepixel_zanzibar and he posted some photos of me from the trip on his IG (These are the first set of photos below). I looked so happy because I was.

3. A song on Apple Music - Earlier that same day, I put the Lion King Soundtrack on shuffle and Hakuna Matata came on. There’s some sentimental value tied to the movie and the song from my childhood. Lion King is also set in Tanzania and Kenya and hakuna matata was a phrase I heard a lot on my trip. These connections brought back some energy and a rush of good feelings.

4. An email about revisiting photos from my trip - #2 and #3 led me to revisit photos from the trip overall. Oddly enough, I had not been able to access the photos before, but I went to check and I had an email explaining how to access them. Going through the photographers shots, I got to relive some of my favorite moments of an unforgettable trip.

A google search and wikipedia (bare with me) told me that the literal translation of hakuna matata is this: hakuna: "there is no/there are no"; matata: "worries." This was a reminder for me that, while I felt overwhelmed with everything I was juggling, I didn’t feel worried. I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t worried. This was the key that helped me keep going.

Travel Tip #22: Worry less, trust yourself more.

This week, let’s talk. How are you going to keep moving this week, this month, and in this season?

If you get e-mail updates, let me know by replying to the email.

If you get text updates, let me know by replying to the text message.

If you read it on the website or social media, let me know in the comments.

Keep moving,

Mai

P.S. More about my trip to Africa coming soon! If there’s anything specific you want to know, tell me!