Escaping Task Altitude
A little perspective from up in the clouds
If you’ve ever wondered, “Is it too late for me to...” the answer’s NO and The Uplifters is about to show you why. This space is for purpose-driven women who want to do big, brave things in the second half of their lives.
I’ve been on a lot of planes this month, traveling to speaking gigs, talking about midlife women’s unique coaching needs. On one of my recent flights, somewhere over the Midwest, after hitting refresh 50 times to try to make the wifi work, I gave up and just let my mind wander. I thought about how cool it was that a company was flying me around North America to speak at its conferences, when that had been a wildly audacious dream just a few years ago.
Researchers at Washington University found that idle time — the kind that opens up on long flights — allows people to think about things in new ways. The “aha” moment, they found, tends to emerge when we’re doing something else entirely. And a creativity researcher found that “over and over again, people describe being most creative when they’re in motion. Whether they’re running or swimming or on a train or an airplane, just moving, the body physically in space moving, seems to unleash something in them.”
As I sat on that flight, lost in the clouds, I started to think about my big dreams. Because as much as I do that with my coaching clients, I don’t always take that time for myself. Like so many of us, my to-do list, emails, and errands take precedence.
So, in this quiet, uninterrupted space, I imagined the future I’m building now. My youngest daughter graduates from high school in 2028. When she flies the nest, I want to be traveling with my husband, speaking at conferences and hosting workshops, seeing the world while in conversation with purpose-driven women.
My action items, to-do lists, writing, podcast, events, and community are what will take me there. Those things all inspire me, but looking a little further down the road made me tingle with excitement. It boosted my energy for all of those other things.
If your goals have been feeling like a grind lately, I have a hypothesis: maybe they’ve been stuck at task altitude. So close to the details that they’ve stopped feeling like dreams and started feeling like responsibilities.
What if we gave them a little boost this week?
Not a full strategic plan. Just a few minutes of wandering. The kind where you’re not trying to figure out how, just letting yourself imagine where you’re headed. It doesn’t take a long flight. A walk, a bath, a quiet cup of coffee before anyone else is up can all do the trick.
I’d love to know what surfaces when you do. What’s the dream underneath the dream that explains why all the little pieces matter so much? Hit reply or leave a comment and tell me.
And if there’s an idea in the back of your head (or your gut or your journal) that you’d like to make real, that’s exactly what I do with my coaching clients. We get clear on the vision. We make a plan. We make it real. Reply to this email if you want to talk about working together.
See you up in the clouds, Aransas
PS Paid subscribers, I’ll see you later this week with a series of reflection prompts and an invite to our weekly Uplifters co-working Zoom/unhinged dance party.