Setting Intentions with Miss Bradshaw

Sunday, May 5, 2019

The energy in Allen for the past few weeks (read: past several months) is comparable to the feeling of running a long-distance relay race, but your teammates are your past self (a young sprout in Creative Strat, overwhelmed and mesmerized by the possibilities ahead), your current self (*insert heavy breathing here*), and  your future self (a blurry image that never quite comes into focus, no matter how hard Current You digs in their heels). The never-ending list of tasks builds and the baton gets heavier with each step.

Past You has spent several months preparing Current You for all that is to come, during this trip and beyond. The tireless portfolio-edit hours, the compilation of smart questions, the absorption of agency sites, the packing and repacking and repacking and repacking of bags. Past You, despite best efforts, at times fell victim to a collective chaos that made you question your preparedness, and at times your worthiness.

Current You feels that collective chaos too. But Current You knows something Past You didn’t always remember: Current You made it to this point and will continue on. Current You is in New York Freaking City. Current You channels that chaos. Current You has developed a skillset that will enable you to power through this week like a champ. You’ll be able to learn a ridiculous amount in a short period of time. You’ll successfully navigate an unfamiliar city (except Michael Albert Ryan Robelli III, who will not survive). You’ll eat killer food. You’ll meet interesting people. You’ve got this.

The last three days have reminded me just how good it can be to slow down and soak up what is all around you. All you can do is be Current You. This week is going to fly by and the best way to make sure you make the most out of it is to set the intention to lean into now and carry that baton.

In the wise words of one Carrie Bradshaw, “Sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past, stop planning the future, stop figuring out precisely how we feel, stop deciding exactly what we want, and just see what happens.”

-Maggie Elias