Radio Headspace

So much of our lives can feel like they're being observed, measured, or shared. Even the things we enjoy can become something to document or turn into an accomplishment. Dora has been thinking about the importance of keeping a little part of our lives private, especially when it comes to creativity. Her paint-by-numbers experiment reminded her that there's real freedom in being a beginner and making something imperfectly, with nobody watching. Not everything needs to be seen to matter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there's something you've been wanting to start but keep putting off, Dora has a question that might help: What's my role here? Rather than running through every task, obstacle, and possible outcome, try getting specific about the part that's actually yours. Dora found that once she understood her role in creating a mindfulness teacher training, the first step became obvious. You don't need a plan for the entire mountain today. You just need to know where to put your foot next.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even when we sit down to do something restorative, it's easy to bring along the same expectations we carry everywhere else. We want to make progress, see results, and know we're doing it correctly. Dora recognizes how that achievement mindset showed up in her own meditation practice, where every session became a quiet evaluation of her performance. But meditation doesn't have to be another opportunity to prove yourself. What might become possible if you gave yourself permission to simply sit, without grading the experience?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Dora noticed herself getting frustrated during meditation, her first instinct was to fix the problem. But the more she judged herself for being distracted, the further she got from understanding what she needed. Eventually, she tried a different approach: instead of asking why she couldn't get it right, she asked what was underneath the distraction. The answer was simple and human: tiredness, anxiety, a full life. Next time you're caught in self-criticism, can you pause and ask what you were feeling before the judgment showed up?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dora has been thinking about what it means to be a good partner, and how easily that desire can turn into pressure to be the best one. More attentive, more patient, more present. No matter how much she gives, there's always another version of herself she could be striving toward. When she shares that feeling with her closest friends, she discovers she's far from alone. Why do so many of us feel like we're falling short, even when we're trying our best? And what if the answer isn't to do more, but to come back to where we are?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices