Perform. So that you might have nice things and have nice things happen to you.

Conform. Be a certain way. Stop being that other way.

Produce. More. Even more. No days off. 

Perform. Conform. Produce. After all, you have to work hard if you want to make something of yourself.

These are the dictates of culture. 

And they are in direct contradiction of Universal law. 

Universal law says you are a blessed, beautiful, beloved something now, and you were before you even made your debut here on planet Earth.    

Universal law says you came here perfect, whole and complete, born with the express destiny to be loved, cherished and adored.

However challenging love has been, and even your very early relationships were, please be reminded that you were born trailing clouds of the glory and love that applied to you when you were just a perfect idea in Divine Mind. So your very first relationship was one of perfect love.

So yeah… culture has lied to you, Brilliant One.

Let me clear some things up. 

You need never “be productive” to “create value.” 

You are not a human “asset” to be measured, tracked, and optimized. 

You are valuable just because you exist, even if you never crank out another iota of work product, never hit another goal, never lose another pound, write another word or make another dollar. 

Now…

…with that out of the way, I want to offer you another way to look at The Issue of Productivity. This is a teaching story in the tradition of my spiritual lineages. I call it the Parable of the Plum Tree.

About five years ago now, I planted a plum tree in my backyard. There was no big intention behind it. I wasn’t trying to be deep. I just saw a plum tree at the nursery and thought it seemed like a good idea. 

So I brought it home, took it to the top part of my backyard, dug a hole and dropped it in. I may have watered it for a few days. 

But then I forgot about it. 

I traipsed off to Croatia to ride my bike through the Dalmatian isles for my 40th birthday. MyFitnessPal, where I was leading marketing at the time, was acquired. I wrote a book. Linked up with a new boyfriend. Traveled a bunch. Got a (delightfully unexpected) surprise baby. Broke up with that boyfriend. 

I’ve been busy.

Seasons changed.

Along the way, I forgot about the tree. 

More than four years went by, and in all that time I never even went up to the top reaches of my backyard. 

Until Londyn started really walking and exploring, and tugged at me one day to go up there. 

So imagine my surprise to see this truly, fully neglected tree laden with shiny, sweet, delicious, plums. Within moments The Dimple Queen had both hands full of them, purple juice running down her arms, pausing between bites only to yell: “AMMA!! This GOOD!!”

What does this have to do with the toxic cultural messages that you must be ever-more productive to earn your place on the planet? 

Everything.

Productivity culture says that your results in life are directly proportional, linear, and logically related to how much work you put in. 

And that lie of culture feeds your Inner Critic, which says that you’re never, ever, ever productive enough.

Never working enough. There’s never enough time to do all of the things. You’ll never really make it. You’ll never get it all done. You’ve always gotta be doing more or you’re doing it wrong.

We even pass this PRODUCTIVITY culture down to our children, when we stress about how much progress they’re making during the pandemic when it might be more peaceful and soulful to prioritize connection and love for learning over academic achievement in this season. 

Listen, I know how your Inner Critic works. As soon as I invite you to set PRODUCTIVITY down, your Inner Critic spins this mental narrative: “Tara are you kidding me? If I don’t track my productivity, manage my time minute-by-minute and push hard toward deadlines, I’ll fall behind and I’ll never get anything done.”

So let me be clear: I’m not suggesting you stop taking action. 

I’m inviting you to shift paradigms. 

Release the need to be PRODUCTIVE. Instead, be FRUITFUL.

Think about my plum tree. I got the idea to plant the tree. I bought it, brought it home, planted it and watered it a little. 

And then Divine Order came in to help. The soil germinated and took hold of the roots. The rain came. The pollinators came. I’m sure my dogs and the foxes helped with fertilization. 

The sun shined.

The fruit this tree bore was neither logical, linear nor directly proportional to my personal efforts. I had a lot of help, and I didn’t personally make all of those plums happen. 

This is true in life, too. You’re not alone in answering your callings. There’s a piece or a zone of activity — a zone of genius — that is uniquely yours to inhabit. 

And if your vision or calling is big, many other people, events and forces will show up, and co-create it with you, whether you ask them to or not.

When you learn to trust this truth  — which is to say, when you learn to trust in Divine Order and the assistance of others — it shifts the atmosphere.

Because PRODUCTIVITY culture creates a prevailing atmosphere of scarcity and fear. 

But FRUITFULNESS and fear can’t coexist.

Fruitfulness is an atmosphere of radical love for yourself, your potentials, and the people and ideals you serve by stepping into your dreams…

I’m talking enough love to wholeheartedly engage with your golden, inspired ideas and take what feels like your natural next step without hesitating, overthinking, second-guessing or analyzing your enthusiasm.

And I’m talking enough love to follow Divine Order, take a pause and let others play their roles, too, when Spirit moves. 

I’ll share more on how to cultivate an atmosphere of fruitfulness next week. 

Head up + heart out,
 

The Inner Critic Coach™
Spiritual Strategist for smart, successful people

Tara-Nicholle Nelson, MA, Esq.
Founder + CEO of SoulTour

@taranicholle on FB | TW | IG | LI

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