A Spell for Rising Through Challenge

Dear listener, you know how much I love a metaphor,

and the metaphor in this episode is SPOT ON.

Working our way through challenges takes a lot,

even (especially) for Growth-Oriented witches like us.

But it’s not just More Effort. It’s about finding

the resources, the support, the mindset

that will allow us to reach through the trials

with our hearts and minds intact and engaged.

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Mentioned:

Get more love around resourcing (and more of this delightful road-trip metaphor) with Episode 7 Mind Witchery, A Spell For Sustaining Growth.

Intuitive Artist, Reader and Mystic Michael Francis Lott.

The Summer Day, by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver.

Make Magic:

When the road gets steep in front of you,

don’t just stomp on the gas pedal.

Think about what gear your engine needs to be in,

and how much fuel you need to keep moving.

Transcript: A Spell for Rising Through Challenge

Natalie Miller: Welcome to Mind Witchery. I’m your host, Natalie Miller, and I’m so glad you’re here. 

Hello, my love. Welcome. I am excited to talk to you today about challenging times, and to give you a spell for rising through challenge. So, first of all, when I’m talking about “challenge,” I want to acknowledge that some challenges are welcome, and some challenges really aren’t, right. 

So, we live in challenging times in that we are entering year three of a pandemic, and all of the disruption and restriction and sadness and difficulty that that brings. So, that would be a version of an unwelcome challenge. Nobody wants that.

But challenge is also sometimes very welcome, or it is self-generated. I’m noticing right now with my clients, with my friends, the drastic shift in global circumstances and in our everyday lives has inspired and compelled a lot of people to make big changes in the way that they live, in the way that they work, in the way that they prioritize in their lives. 

And maybe that is true for you. Maybe you’re noticing that there are places where you are like, “I want more. I want better. I want different than this.” And, so, you are stepping into growth very on purpose. You are challenging yourself to do new things or to be in the world in a different way. 

And, you know, of course, I’m not a fan of a binary so [laugh] I want to acknowledge that many challenges are both welcome and unwelcome. Maybe I am—I’m choosing a new direction in my career because circumstances have made the old direction not viable, I mean, especially for my growth-oriented friends. And I know you are one of those because you listen to this podcast. This is a growth-oriented podcast.

We are often taking an unwelcome circumstance, and seeing it as an opportunity to grow. We don’t really shrink from the challenge. We step into it. So, today’s spell is a spell for rising through challenge. It’s so simple, and it is actually intuitive, but is very contrary to, in opposition of our cultural bent, our cultural tendencies.

OK. So, here’s the spell. It’s one word, the spell for rising through challenge: downshift. Downshift. Let’s bring in a metaphor. I want you to imagine you’re in a car, and you are climbing a steep, winding roading—a challenging road. What does your vehicle do? 

If it’s a manual transmission—which I love. I love driving a manual transmission. Sidenote: If it’s a manual transmission, you will downshift. You will take the car down into a lower gear. And if your car is an automatic transmission, it will do that on its own. It will shift down into a lower gear, into a gear that is usually meant for slower speeds. 

OK. So, how does this translate into our lives as we are rising through challenge? Well, number one, it means slow down. Slow down. Allow your timeline to expand. Right? 

There’s already a lot of pressure; already likely a sense of urgency. And, so, consciously to slow down; to take time to do things like set intentions; to build a schedule or a timeline that has more space in it; to decline the inclination to add to the pressure, to add to the urgency by building in time pressure as well. So, when you are rising through challenge, what can you do to slow down, to take your time, consciously? 

I was talking to my intuitive coach yesterday. His name is Michael. He’s wonderful, and I will link to his Instagram in the Show Notes. I was talking to Michael, and he said, “You know, Natalie, the faster you’re growing, the more you need to slow down.” And I just thought, oh, my gosh, that’s so right. 

If you’ve ever witnessed a child or a puppy or a kitten [laugh] who’s going through a growth spurt, you know, they’re growing so quickly, they’re not yet accustomed to their new proportions, their new limbs, their new height, their new power. And, so, there’s a kind of a clumsiness. It’s not quite coordinated. 

And I think that we are the same. [laugh] I think we are the same. When we are growing really fast, and especially in response to challenge, slowing down helps us to integrate those changes, and helps us to be more graceful as we navigate them. 

OK. Downshift, do less. Do less. When you are rising through challenge, do only what is necessary. We need all our available power for what is most important. 

Now, this is very countercultural because we place such a high priority on doing. This is a puritan work ethic thing. This is a capitalism thing. We believe that doing is the way to survive; to succeed. 

And, of course, that is somewhat true. Doing is important for survival. And, yet, the hyperfocus on doing more, on doing the most, actually disperses our energy. It spreads it out too thinly. And in a moment of challenge, we need concentrated power. 

I want you to think about that car climbing the mountain. You downshift, and the engine growls with concentrated power. You know, I have found that when a challenge is enormous, this happens quite naturally. 

Consider for a moment when you are ill. What do you do? You’re not clearing out the closet. You’re not getting all your finances in order. You may not even be emptying the wastebasket full of tissues, right? You’ve downshifted into the most basic—the most basic—the simplest functions. 

Another moment that comes to mind here is my father passed away a couple of years ago, and he was in the hospital for a week while we were seeing if he would make it or not. And during that week, my siblings and I did only the most basic things. We ate. We sat together. We slept. We sat together. We sat with him. We talked with the doctor.

It was the most basic. We downshifted together into a very simple existence. And I am so very grateful we had the resources, the resourcefulness to be able to do that—Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday until Friday when he left us.

So, downshifting into really only what is necessary, and so you might think to yourself as you are rising through a challenge, what is actually most vital? What is most important? And then what can wait? 

What will be nice someday [laugh] when we’ve rounded this corner, when we’ve picked up speed? I’m going to trust that that will be the perfect time to do these extra tasks. But for now, let me just do what is vital and necessary. I’m downshifting. I’m concentrating my power and my presence in that which is most important. 

I think that’s easier to do when we’re facing an unwelcome challenge. When we are in the midst of growth though, because it is so hammered into us that the way to succeed is to do, that the more we do, the more we get, the more we do, the more we succeed, I think that’s the place that it’s—again, I don’t think it’s counterintuitive, because you’ll notice in those moments, you’re so tired. 

You’re watching a day go by, and you’re like, “What did I even do today? Not much happened.” And it’s like, well, no, you were integrating change. You were stepping into this next level. You were growing. You were climbing this hill, this mountain. 

Yes, it doesn’t seem like you did much, but what you did required concentrated power. And, so, honoring that and, again, trusting that all of that extra stuff, it will be here for you. I promise. You are growth-oriented. It’s not going anywhere. 

The best way for you to rise through this challenge is to do less, do what is most vital, and nothing more. Now, of course, in order to be able to do that, you will need support. If you’re going to do only what’s vital, you will need help doing what’s not vital, as well as perhaps support through the challenge, support through the growth, support through the difficulty.

So, this is the third thing that happens when we downshift into that lower, slower, more concentrated gear. We get that extra burst of energy from the engine. And that requires more fuel, right? 

If you are coasting through flat lands, the plains, you will need less fuel than you need if you are climbing a winding road up a mountain; so more support. Downshifting into that lower gear asks for more—more support. Doing less; receiving more.

For me, 2021 was far and wide one of the most challenging years of my life. There were challenges very unwelcome and self-generated. I grew so much, and I could not have done it without ample support. 

And I’m finding that as I’m still climbing, I’m still rising through challenge. And I know almost definitely so are you, because this is a challenging time, and because you are here to make the most of this wild and precious life, as Mary Oliver writes. Right? We are ones who rise to and through the challenge, and so we will need support and fuel. 

And, oh, my gosh, that can be scary. When we’re in a moment of growth, of uncertainty, and we say, “OK, I’m going to take some of my resources, and I’m going to spend them on a coach, on a therapist, on a consultant; I’m going to get help; I’m going to access more power, more fuel; I’m going to resource myself as I grow,” that can feel precarious because here we are climbing the winding road. We don’t know what’s around the corner. 

There’s a very mammalian desire to conserve. [laugh] Right? Like, no, no, no, don’t spend anything. You don’t know what’s going to happen next. Don’t reach out for help. Just hold it all together. Right? 

We don’t know what’s around the bend. And, yet, the way to get around the bend, the way to discover, the way to step into what’s next, requires more support, requires more fuel, requires more rest. And this is a really vital part of downshifting: using more fuel; spending more money; tapping into more resources. 

It helps us to ascend through challenge. And in a moment that we can feel disconnected, discombobulated [laugh], right, it’s a moment of challenge. It’s a moment where we feel a little unsteady. There is so much comfort and connectedness available when we reach out for support, for more resources, for more fuel.

So, for me, in 2021, one of the most challenging years of my life, this was also a year that I opened up to more support than ever before, even though it was scary—and please know it was so scary. It was scary. It was like here I am, investing in myself when I’m not even sure who I am right now. That’s what it feels like to get support in growth. 

I don’t know who I am. I don’t know what I’m doing. [laugh] I don’t know how this is all going to turn out. And, yet, I’m in challenge, and I’m determined to rise, so I will tap into the support that I need to do so. I want you to know, for me, it worked. For every client I’ve ever supported through big change, support is a vital part of the ascension. 

All right, my loves, you might like to revisit an earlier podcast. It’s The Spell for Sustaining Your Growth. It’s more of a road trip metaphor but it’ll go a little more deeply into this resourcing piece. And in the meantime, I’ll just recap for you a spell for rising through challenge is just one word: downshift—downshift, meaning slow down; downshift, meaning concentrate your power into what is most vital; downshift, meaning tap into more fuel, more resources, more support.

I hope that part of that support for you is this podcast right here. That is what I intend it to be. I believe in you, my friend. I am cheering you on. I am here for you. Thanks so much for listening. Bye for now.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Mind Witchery. To catch all the magic I’m offering, please subscribe to the show, or if you want a little bit of weekly witchiness in your inbox, sign up for my Sunday Letter at mindwitchery.com. If today’s episode made you think of a friend or loved one, your sister, your neighbor, please tell them about it. We need more magic-makers in this troubled world. 

Like all good things, this podcast is co-created by stellar people. Our music is by fabulous DJ, artist, and producer, Shammy Dee. Our gorgeous art is by the sorcerers at New Moon Creative. Mind Witchery is produced in conjunction with Particulate Media, K.O. Myers, executive producer. And I am Natalie Miller. Till next time. 

End of recording