Never Be the Sane One Again

Sanity isn't all it's cracked up to be.

"We're given a specific madness and we mustn't lose it." --Robin Williams

Let me explain. Ever imagine you could inject a dose of renegade into a project, relationship, business deal, or encore career? Or ever wish that you would recognize your renegade self if you came face-to-face?

Mid-January is a perfect time to massage our madness mojo. Studies show that 54% of Americans make New Year's resolutions, 80% of those don't keep them, and most resolutions are goners within two weeks. And here's my take on resolutions, while we're on the subject.

Anyway, I was struck over the weekend by an unexplainable impulse to initiate spring cleaning in January. The weather was unseasonably warm... but still. Foraging through one drawer exposed a shamrock green folder of poetry I'd written during college with inspirational lines by Lawrence Ferlinghetti curlicued across its cover. As I held crinkly onionskin pages between my fingers, I remembered typing the original poems for class on a Corolla typewriter with a stuck letter "A" key. When it was "time" to write, I recall turning the crackly glass doorknob 'just so' to close my oversized oak bedroom door from the rest of the house. I'd sit high upon the canopy bed in the Victorian rental house I shared with my roommates and summon my muse to write.

During that time, pen to paper expressed my relationships daily-with myself, with others and with the world around me. In those collegiate days, I wrote mostly about love, waitressing and loss. Writing always brought me back to myself and I could not imagine getting through a day without inky expression.

We grow up. Leave behind or forget chunks of our selves. We get real. Mature. Take on more responsibility. I got a job. Got married. Had children. A dog. I did not write again for pleasure for many years.

Madness Thievesr
Madness thieves steal traits away from what makes you stand up and stand out from the crowd. From the others in your field, on your circuit, selling what you sell. Usually because you've gone on sanity autopilot about how you're showing up.

Somewhere along the way many of us lose touch with what makes us tick. Maybe years ago we internalized criticism, fell short of perfection or thought we'd survive better without our madness. What we didn't realize when we opted out of madness was that it creates and attracts magic. It anchors us and allows us to move ahead, even when we don't feel quite ready.

We may be getting by, enduring, rationalizing that it's selfish to take the time or our turn. But where's the magic we remember?

Before your head starts working overtime, here are a few starter questions to reclaim your magic:

Massaging the Madness Queries

What was dear to me or made me stand out in younger days?
What would a trusted ally say comes naturally to me that does not come naturally to other people?
What do I want to create this year through that lens of affinity and ease?
What would I most want to be known for, above all else?

If you find your madness muscle memory is weak and you've been coasting on sanity, you can get back on track. Reclaim your madness by trying new things, mixing things up, leaning in to uncertainty and permitting (what may initially feel like) indulgence. Make a decision to reconnect with a shiny part of you that's felt long gone and you'll discover how to energize your life and your business again.

What are your thoughts? What madness would you like to cultivate more of?