Being Inspired vs. Jealousy... and How to Stay on Your Path

I played a game with 3 kids a few weeks ago, where I took a bunch of blocks and made 3 separate "paths" with the blocks. I then asked the kids to go from where they were to the end of the path. I had them hopping and skipping blocks, and figuring out how to get from one block to the next on their own. Each path was different, so in order to jump from one block to the next, they would each have to come up with their own individual way to do it. One of the little girls kept watching the older girls, so I stopped and said, "It isn't going to help to watch their paths! You have to figure out how to get to the end all on your own. Watching them isn't going to help you get to where you have to go!"

And then I realized I was being a hypocrite.

There is a lot of inspiration around us. And if you're open to all of the amazing things in life, then you're most likely going to be inspired by everything and everyone in some way. So what's the difference between being inspired... And losing your own path? I recently read an article by Bob Lefsetz. He's a great writer with a LOT of opinions, many of which I agree with - Many of which I get frustrated by... Because I agree with them :) Anyway, Bob wrote about a musician we should all follow. He wrote that she is "the queen" when it comes to this particular topic he was writing about. I immediately felt inspired... And competitive... And maybe a little jealous. And then I stopped. And I realized that she and I have 2 separate lives! What works for her could totally work for me... Or it might not, because we have 2 separate lives!

Jealousy doesn't work. Inspiration does.

Today, I am committing to converting any initial feelings of jealousy that I have, into feelings of inspiration. I am committing to recognizing that I love the path I'm on, and staying on it will be way more productive than jumping onto someone else's... Which is essentially what we do when we get competitive and jealous. Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret, says that jealousy is sending it out to the universe, that there isn't enough to go around.

So find your path and stay on it. And when road blocks come, get inspired. Take inspired action, rather than frantic pursuits of happiness that will amount to nothing but frustration and a feeling that you're not good enough.

You are more than good enough.

XO,

Devyn

Check out Bob Lefsetz! www.lefsetz.com

Read The Secret by Rhonda Byrne!

My debut EP, Time, is now available on iTunes!

 Twitter: @devynrush

www.youtube.com/devynrushmusic

Working Hard vs. Working Smart...Maybe We Should Just Work Easy...

So the 4th of July was AWESOME for me this year. I went to Coney Island with one of my best friends, sat on the beach for hours and talked about life, laughed, and went out for dinner afterwards. The only work I was doing on the 4th of July, was desperately trying to get a tan... Am I a bronze goddess yet? If red is the new tan, then Yes, Yes I am!

I will now rewind to the 4th of July 2011.

I sat in my apartment, by myself, trying to figure out what I could do to be *productive*, freaking out because everyone was at the beach instead of sending emails, and instead of slowing down with them, I chose to stay inside and drive myself crazy for not being *productive* enough.

A year later, I recognize that I have made huge strides. 

Sometimes the real challenge is in learning when to stop challenging ourselves.

What opens the door for success? We hear things all the time: Hard Work, Dedication, Motivation, Perspiration, Perseverance... Sometimes I feel like I've hit a plateau. Sometimes, especially when I have a day like today - where I have about 2 hours between appointments, and end up accidentally walking 60 blocks in Manhattan - I feel guilty, like I'm not doing enough. But now I'm learning to stop and breathe.

Maybe it isn't about working hard. Maybe it really is about working smart and realizing that part of working smart, is omitting the things that you would define as "busy work", asking yourself, 

"What is the root cause of this? Am I working toward a greater purpose here, or am I simply working to distract myself from something that is so much smaller than I am?"

One of my favorite books is The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten. In the book, Victor writes about a teacher he had, who told him to "Try Easy".

Maybe it's time to stop trying so hard to get results. Maybe we should define what the result looks like to us, and just maybe the work that we have to do will come to us out of inspiration... and not out of stress.

Something I'm thinking about now is

Do I want my accomplishments to come as a result of my stress? 

Just some food for thought :)

Love,

Devyn

www.devynrush.com

www.twitter.com/devynrush

www.youtube.com/devynrushmusic

Want me to do a concert in your hometown? Email me: devynrush@gmail.com

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