Ep. 26: Season Two Premiere - Let the World Catch Up: Part 1 of 2

In the Season Two premiere of The Rest of Us podcast, host Dana Tenille Weekes makes the case for embracing the affirmation “let the world catch up” when people cannot see what we see or understand what we understand. 

Dana opens this two-part episode by sharing that she struggled over the past few months to remain connected to her agency. She also acknowledges that many of us feel unrest in today’s world from sources that are beyond our inner selves. But, Dana says, this is even more reason for us to adopt the mindset of “let the world catch up,” and she explores two of the five mindset shifts to do so.  

What You'll Settle Into

• Two mindset shifts that are necessary to let the world catch up: (1) pull yourself out of proving mode; and (2) have a vision of what you want that is so real you’re living it consistently.
• A reflection prompt to help us identify default narratives we tell ourselves that keep us in proving mode, and what a narrative could be that defaults to a “let the world catch up” mindset.
• Two other reflection prompts to help us envision and believe in what the world will need to catch up to.  

Key Quotes / Insights

• Letting the world catch up must be for something that centers your humanity and values and allows you to feel your feelings instead of thinking or masking them. But, in no way, does it center your ego.
• Proving mode stalls being who you are. You’re not letting the world catch up to you, but you’re constantly chasing the world to prove that you deserve to live in it
• “When there is something I desire that I know the world will need to catch up to … I envision and believe that what I desire has already happened, it already exists, and it is waiting for me to catch up to it.”
• What the world needs to catch up to is not an easy responsibility or opportunity to hold. Meeting your moment is celebratory, yes, but it is a responsibility, which is why I often tell folks that not distinguishing between you and your ego will undermine who you are when you meet your moment and undermine the moment itself.

PODCAST TEAM

Host, Dana Tenille Weekes

Producer, Najmah Ahmad 

Editor, Sagheer Muhammad

Content Manager, Annabelle Oh

If this episode feels like a message or mirror, feel free to share it with someone who is looking to think about rest differently. 

🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
 ⭐ Leave a 5-star review. (We are grateful for you doing so.) 

Until next time, rest, my friends.

Connect with Us
Website:

• www.therestofuspodcast.com  

Instagram:

• @therestofus.podcast
• @danatenilleweekes

Substack:

• @therestofuspodcast

LinkedIn:

• Dana Tenille Weekes

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

When you begin doubting or questioning who you are in certain decisions that you know people can't see what you see or understand, what you understand, I want you to tell yourself, let the world catch up. If a friend reaches out to you and expresses doubt or questions themselves because people can't see what they see or understand what they understand, and you can feel, you can truly feel your friend is on to something. I want you to tell your friend, let the world catch up. Are you exhausted, on the brink of burnout, or beyond? Losing yourself to work, the demands of loved ones, and this dizzy world? Hello, I'm Dana Tania Weeks, and on the Rest of Us Podcast, we hold conversations, challenge the norms of self-care, and laugh together to help you navigate your life where you embrace rest as liberation. Join us. Welcome to the Rest of Us Podcast, where we explore rest as a form of liberation as a community. I'm your host, Dana Tanil Weeks. Hello, my friends. I'm starting out season two and this two-part episode with a warning. My introduction is going to be longer than usual, so please hold the space for me before we settle into this episode. Thank you in advance. I love you for it. Well, this episode marks the launch of season two of The Rest of Us. Yay! I haven't talked with you all in about nearly six months, my friends. And I'll be honest, over the past three months, I have been struggling to remain connected to my agency due to things happening in my life, some of which have just shifted part of my life's foundation. Also, my energy truly matched that of winters, one of hibernation and the need for slowing, which is really honestly counter to how we ring in the new year in the US. And what I realized, certainly, certainly not for the first time, as I struggled, is that most people won't prioritize my care or your care. I know this. People will give the appropriate platitude or common sayings such as, I'm sorry to hear that, but then people still want you to move at their pace. Like I heard over and over, so Dana, let's let's get the next call on the books. I also found that I still harbor rage, which honestly indicates that my compassion is not buried, but truly felt in these moments, especially given the injustices and the inhumane acts as human beings we are capable of. And too many of us, too many, are choosing. And this can be, at least for me, isolating at times when you see people living in their comfort and peace and not living in their liberation, pretending or worse, worse, believing that things are normal. And while this is smaller in the context of what I'm talking about, someone who knows my professional background shared with me that they were surprised I haven't done a political podcast because the world needs my perspective on things. That's their words, not mine, that the world needs my perspective on things. They also implied that my focus on rest felt like a bit of a cop-out during this time, to which I said, Do you know my definition of rest? What this podcast is about? It really, this podcast has nothing to do with commercialized self-care. It is about creating community for people to reconnect to their agency. Because if people are terrified to even ask for a vacation day, how, tell me how are they going to stand up for other people's liberation? This is all to say that I may cultivate space for rest as liberation, but I don't think for a second that, or rather, don't think for a second, that I don't struggle to. And this is why I stayed committing, committed to launching season two, although it is on a different timeline, very different timeline than what I intended three months ago. And guess what? That's okay. So with that, I want to thank you for holding the space for me to share what's been going on with me in a nutshell. I know I haven't shared a ton of details, but in a nutshell. And now it's time for me to talk about today's episode. So in season one, I never intended to create a mantra for the season. But after people listened to the episode on whose mountain are you climbing, many folks share that this question stayed with them throughout the entire season. And so a mantra was organically created then. Whose mountain are you climbing? As I launched season two, I'm going to be a bit more intentional and create a mantra for the season. And this mantra is let the world catch up. It is for those moments in life when you feel like you're on to something that you can see, but most people can't see, or that you can understand, but most people say they can't understand. So if anything in this episode feels like a message or mirror, share it with someone who is looking to think about rest differently. First, let me state the obvious again when I talk about this mantra, let the world catch up. We live in a difficult world. While there is still true, true good in this world, and there are still good, good, good human beings in this world, we are also living in a dumpster fire. Two things can be true at the same time. Although I think if humanity is willing, we can make this one, this time in our lives, a reckoning. But to be honest, I'm still not sure if people are ready, are truly ready for liberation. And while some of us are waking up from our comfort and peace to see the realities of this world for what it is, some of you find these realities as unprecedented when in fact they are patterns that have been experienced by historically oppressed and marginalized communities endlessly. This is all to say, my friends, that I want to acknowledge that many of us are feeling true unrest and that source origin is beyond us. It is truly beyond us. There are too, too many people in this world who refuse to see us and understand us. In fact, people and governments are imposing their own internal unrest onto us and then questioning why we experience the rage, why we experience the anger and the sadness, blaming us for being compassionate, as if to belong deeply to our humanity is a radical, lawless act. It is not. Be you, do you, and tell the world to catch up to you. So with that, let's settle in, my friends. In this episode, I want you to think of something you have wanted to do that you've been doing at the pace of everyone else, external expectations or your fears, instead of at the pace of you, your details that are meant to be enlivened by you. You've been waiting for people to see what you see and understand what you understand. It could be leaving a place where you've felt stuck. It could be starting, it could be starting your own podcast, it could be starting to paint or to write. It could be starting an organization or a communal or community space. It could be even taking a true rest period. Here's the thing: it must be something that centers your humanity and your values and also allows you to feel your feelings instead of thinking or masking them. But I wanna I wanna make this clear, but in no way does it center your ego. Not what keeps you fearful, not what is status-seeking or title-driven, uh, not what keeps you in an identity that allows you to hide from yourself and fools you into thinking you're showing up as you in this world. Because as my mama, Mama Weeks, told me since I was a child, you'd only be fooling yourself. So, what is this thing you want to do that the world is going to need to catch up to? Say it out loud to me. And if you can, at least say it to yourself. But if you can say it out loud, I still can't hear you. Okay, now I can, so thank you for that. Okay. If you want to start letting the world catch up to you, it calls for at least five mindset shifts, but really I'm just going to do five mindset shifts, which I will share with you in this two-part episode. So in this episode, part one, I will share two of the five and ask you to settle into one along with its reflection prompt. So this first mindset shift is letting the world catch up to you calls for you to pull yourself out of proving mode. I'll say it again. Letting the world catch up to you calls for you to pull yourself out of proving mode. Here's the thing: proving mode stalls being who you are. You don't navigate the day grounded in you or deepening who you are. Instead, you go throughout your day just consciously or or unconsciously waiting to be told how to be you. You're not letting the world catch up to you, my friend, but you are constantly chasing the world to prove that you deserve to live in it. And you know, and I know, we both know, that's exhausting. It's a mindset of unrest. So many people have normalized, proving to others so much in their daily lives that they don't even realize they're doing it. If you're wondering if you are people, those people I have just referenced, let me ask you a few questions to call you in and not out into this episode. Are you committed to saving people as in being a savior, the saint, the all-knowing? Are you in environments where you believe you must force people to see what you see and understand what you understand? Are you committed to abiding by societal norms and rules even when they undermine who you are, including your values and your intrinsic value? Do you have to be the best in the room to feel like you've made progress? If, if, if, if you said yes or you did not definitely say no, then you've probably normalized proving mode in your life and you don't even realize it. The reason is that these actions likely require you to abandon part or all, part or all of your humanity by living outside yourself. To believe that you cannot be enlivened by your own details and really, honestly, to put you in a constant state of unrest, disconnected from your agency. Often you you just don't know who you are, or that you are only that you only feel meaning in in life by doing things for others, or that your val, that your value comes from validation. Again, when I say let the world catch up, I'm not talking about abandoning community or your humanity. In fact, my friend, I'm asking you to center your humanity and values and to allow yourself to feel your feelings instead of thinking or masking them. Make yourself accountable to you. Trust, trust, trust, trust yourself that what you see and what you understand are meant to exist in this world and not in your head. So, what if you decide to let the world catch up to you instead of at the pace at everyone else's external expectations or fears, but rather at the pace of you? What if you decide that you'll be the change, not the savior, you want to see in the world? What if you set the standard of how you want to live and the impact you want to make? If you're leaning toward letting the world catch up to you and shifting from proving mode, where you're constantly catching up to the world, or shall I say, chasing the world, then here's a reflection prompt. Here it is. When I have the opportunity to act in my agency and liberation, what narrative must I tell myself that defaults to letting the world catch up instead of letting me catch up to the world, which is proving mode? Again, for this reflection prompt. When I have the opportunity to act in my agency and liberation, what narrative must I tell myself that defaults to letting the world catch up instead of letting me catch up to the world, which is proving mode. Okay. The second mindset that we're going to focus on now is letting the world catch up calls for you to have a vision of what you want that is so real, you're living it consistently. I'll repeat it. Letting the world catch up calls for you to have a vision of what you want that is so real, you're living it consistently. Okay, I'm gonna tell you how I envision now. I'm not saying I'm gonna be real honest with y'all. I am not saying I'm consistent with it because it's been a big change and it's fairly new in my life, but I am more conscious of it about what I am doing, which for me is marked growth. I credit myself for any growth I can make. When there is something I desire that I know the world will need to catch up because most people won't see it or understand it, like the structure of my business back in 2003 when I was talking about it. I envision and believe that what I desire has already happened. It already exists, and it is waiting for me to catch up to it. So I envision and I believe that the thing I want has already happened. It already exists. And so I am just catching up to it. It is essentially calling for me to meet my moment. So instead of meeting the moment, it's asking me to meet my moment. This is all to say. This is all to say that, you know, maybe I think time to a certain extent is a construct, but that's another episode. So for you, I want you to believe that the moment you've been thinking of, when I asked you to think about something earlier in the podcast, has already happened. So I want you to take that moment that I had asked you to think about earlier in a podcast, and I want you to think about it like it has already happened, that it already exists in the world and that you are catching up to it. This is not about, it's not about, my friends, chasing, because what you have to chase is often not meant for you. This moment that you're thinking of is meant for you. And if you have any uh confusion about chasing, um, I did a podcast episode on it. What are you chasing? And so you can listen to that episode as well. But here's the thing: this is about catching up to what is already yours. Why? I have three whys here. Why? So the first why is one, if you believe something has already happened and is waiting for you, is calling for you to meet your moment, you have a greater responsibility for getting there and you feel a greater sense of accountability too, to get there. In other words, this perspective forces you, well, at least at least it forces me, but I hope this perspective forces you to become the main character in your life, meaning you can't be passive in your life's narrative. You center your agency because that is what is required on the journey to meet your moment. Also, this perspective helps you to lean into consistency more, which leads to my second why. Your vision has to feel so real in your life right now that you feel like it has already happened and is waiting for you to meet your moment. You have already written the book, you have already left that job, you have already started that program. This sounds familiar or similar to what I just said in my first live, but I want to point out or rather emphasize a nuance here. The nuance is this: you gotta believe in your vision. This is the second thing. If you do not believe in your vision, it cannot feel real. And you're less likely to live differently and move towards it. You're more likely, you're more likely to keep doing the same thing over and over again and living the same way that keeps you from the vision that the world must catch up to, the vision that's in waiting. Believing in your vision greatly helps define how you must be consistent in your progress, which leads to my third point. And my third point is I'm not talking about strategy here when I'm talking about progressing. I'm not talking about goals you must set and achieve. I'm not asking you to do that here on this podcast. What I am talking about is change behavior and how you choose to show up between now and when you meet your moment. Often, what the world needs to catch up to is not as an easy responsibility or opportunity to hold. It's not easy at all because they can't see what you see. They can't understand what you understand. So this is not an easy responsibility or opportunity to hold. Meeting your moment is celebratory, yes, but it is a responsibility, which is why I often tell folks that not distinguishing between you and your ego will undermine who you are when you meet your moment and undermine the moment itself. People will question you, people will want you to fail, people will mischaracterize you, you will feel isolated at times. You have to be prepared for this moment. You have to prepare yourself. You can't care for your vision that way in a way where it's it's pushed or driven by ego, or that you're not taking responsibility of the journey. Because here's the thing if you cannot honor and respect the journey, you will not honor and respect. The moment. Remember, my podcast is on rest. And I define rest as a liberating form of self-acceptance where you consciously navigate this world in your agency and belonging. In short, rest is being deeply connected to your agency. And so what I mean here, again, has nothing to do with goals. It has everything, everything to do with learning and understanding who you are in the context of your own liberation. Here's the thing: when it comes to consistency, who you are is the common denominator. So you need to know who you are in a state of rest in your liberation. When you are at rest and in your liberation, you are better positioned to address what will come. Remember, I define liberation as being ready and willing to protect, advance, and disrupt your truth. So with that said, here are two reflection prompts for you if you want to settle into creating and believing in a vision that is so real that you're living it consistently. You don't need to engage with both reflection prompts. I'm not asking you to be ambitious. Just feel free to choose one. So the first reflection prompt for this is write the story of what you want the world to catch up to using as much sensory detail, what you smell, what you taste, touch, hear, see. I then want you to create a digital vision board inspired by the story that depicts how you are already living this life. Be sure to look at it daily for at least one minute and narrate your story out loud. You can even print out the vision board and post it in your home. Okay, so that is the first prompt. The second prompt is to think about who you must be to manifest a vision that this world has yet to catch up to. So I'll say that again. Think about who you must be to manifest a vision that the world has yet to catch up to. What behaviors will be required of you when you meet your moment? Define how they will be anchored in your agency and liberation rather than in unrest. For example, you default to worrying as a way to envision your life instead of making your vision real. And then from your list of behaviors, choose one and focus on incorporating it into your life for the next seven days. Okay, so in this episode part one, I have encouraged you to think about doing that thing. Will you just let the world catch up? You're not waiting for folks to see what you see or understand what you understand. I also shared two of the five mindsets needed for the shift. The two mindsets are one, letting the world catch up to you calls for you to pull yourself out of proving mode. And the second is letting the world catch up to you calls for you to have a vision of what you want that is so real, you're living it consistently. In the next episode, I will share the remaining three mindsets. So in part two, you'll get the remaining three, including, including letting the world catch up to you calls for you not to create any more villains in your life narrative. But before I end the episode, I encourage you to start integrating Let the World Catch Up into your daily narrative. When you begin doubting or questioning who you are in certain decisions that you know people can't see what you see or understand, what you understand, I want you to tell yourself, let the world catch up. If a friend reaches out to you and expresses doubt or questions themselves because people can't see what they see or understand what they understand, and you can feel, you can truly feel your friend is on to something. I want you to tell your friend, let the world catch up. On social media platforms, I'll be posting quote cards with let the world catch up that you can save and return to as affirmations for you and to share with your friends. So share them. Well, my friends, we are at the end of this episode. If anything in this episode felt like a message or mirror, feel free to share it with someone who is looking to think about rest differently. Before we go, this is a gentle reminder to download and listen to a new aspect of the Rest of Us podcast, which we're calling Poetic Interludes. When a new episode of The Rest of Us is released, we'll also release a five to seven minute episode featuring poets reading a poem and sharing with you a reflection prompt on rest. Each poetic interlude holds space, including reflection prompts, to remind us that creative expression is a portal to rest as liberation. This week, one poetic interlude episode will feature Anastasia Renee reading STEM, and the second poetic interlude episode will feature poet Susan L. Leary reading her poem Idol. Until next time, rest, my friends. Thank you for listening to this episode and being a part of the rest of us community. My friends, let's build a community together. Here are some ways. Subscribe and rate the Rest of Us Podcast five star or the top reading and leave a comment a good one. I'm grateful for you doing so. Follow us on Instagram at therestofust.podcast and join us on Substaff to read afterthoughts, where guests and I will share our thoughts on select episodes. Or visit therestofuspodcast.com for information on every episode, including reflection exercises, background on our guests, and of course, the poetic interlude. You can also sign up for the podcast club and the rest of us email list to stay in the know about upcoming virtual and in person events. Until next time, rest, my friends.