I don’t know about you, but when I look at my parents’ life, or even my brother’s, I can’t shake that feeling that I should’ve accomplished more by now.
My parents got together in their early 20s, and Mom got pregnant with little baby me. 4 years later, she had my brother and my Dad bought us a house. He is a successful entrepreneur and my Mom hosts conferences for a big company. My brother had his first child and works with my dad.
At almost 40, with no children, living in a rented loft, I don’t have much to show for myself. Easy to feel like I’ve fallen behind.
Do you ever feel that way?
While browsing YouTube in a COVID-induced semi-coma, I saw a notification that Ali Abdaal had released a new video: My honest advice to someone who feels behind in life.
I wasn’t expecting much from it, but I quickly was blown away by the value-packed video I was watching. Ali wasn’t saying that “having fallen behind is just a feeling, a perspective, your path is absolutely perfect” type of new-age bullshit. No. His advice was actionable.
Ali, in this 20-minute video, showed us a roadmap to “unfuck” ourselves in only a few minutes. And a way to build momentum and a sense of control over our lives. In the hundreds of vids I watched from him, it was by far the most valuable.
If you could spend only a few minutes and try one of the action steps he suggests, I bet you’ll see radical improvement real fast.
This fallen behind theme reminded me of a newsletter I read a few weeks ago.
Elizabeth Gilbert started a Substack last year that is now followed by 100k+ people around the world and it’s absolutely magical. It is called
.Every week, Liz invites us to write a letter to ourselves in the name of unconditional love. It is a practice that has been in her life for 25 years, during the worst and the best, and that she still does daily. And now we Lovelets as she calls us, share this practice with her.
Every week, Elizabeth gives us a prompt to ask from love. A few weeks back the prompt was “Dear Love, what would you have me know today about falling behind?”
And the answer she got was thunderous:
Angel child, that is my answer to your question about feeling like you might ever be “falling behind” in life. My quick response is: falling behind from what? But the deeper truth is: THERE’S NOWHERE TO GO.
Head over to her post and read the whole thing. You even get to watch Liz read it aloud. And her guest that week, the wonderful
at , had such a vulnerable take on the same subject. Where else could you be than right here, with the people you love?I love how serendipity works, showing me answers from two distinct sources, two very different voices, on the same subject and illuminating a path forward. Like nudges from the universe.
When was the last time you encountered serendipity like this? Let me know in the comments below!
She's a real human being in this Earth school, so generous, transparent and authentic. I love what she brings
“Thank you for coming to sit with me and speak with me again today, as we do every day. I love the sweetness of your questions and the seriousness of your little furrowed brow, as you ponder what feels to you to be such big questions of life.”
Every time I read Elizabeth Gilbert I feel like I’m being hugged. LOVE her!