Late Friday night, action planet Mars enters mercurial Gemini, making the single-minded pursuit of your goals more difficult than ever. You’ll get distracted in the middle of your work, quickly lose interest in new people, or be tempted to change strategy at the slightest provocation. A part of you might try to force yourself to stay the course. But you will be happier and more successful if you can work with this energy instead of fighting it. Let your interests change and branch out. let your dreams expand and transform. You don’t need to hold yourself to goals or plans you made in the past if they no longer make sense. Circumstances change, and so can you. You occasionally wonder if your life would be better if people took you more seriously or if you were better at following their rules. You imagine that if you had less fun, then every door would open for you. This week, the urge to mold yourself to someone else’s standards may be stronger than ever, but resist. It won’t help and will only serve to diminish what makes you great, what makes you you. Don’t let other people’s expectations dictate the way you live your life. Your instincts are strong. Trust them. Normally, you are in tune with your abilities and potential. You know how much you can reasonably achieve and you know how long it will take. This week, though, everything will take more effort than you think it should. This is not because there is something wrong with you or because you need to work harder. You have been carrying a heavy load for a long time and you are tired. You are not a machine and you should not expect yourself to perform like one. For now, rest as much as you can and trust that your energy will return. For better or worse, your natural curiosity is hard to turn off. Your instinct is always to get the details of every interpersonal drama, to develop an opinion on every conflict, to learn everything you can about the people in your life. It’s not that you’re a nose. You are curious about others, dealing with the world outside your head. This week, for the sake of your own sanity, remember that you can also let some of it filter out. Let the gossip get the better of you. accept that you will never have an informed opinion on every subject. Your life will be interesting anyway and much more peaceful. When your role, whether in your workplace, family, or community, is to be the one in charge, it makes it nearly impossible to honor your need to take (healthy) risks. When everyone around you assumes you’ll be the voice of reason, it’s hard to express your reckless side. Because no matter how conscientious you are, you are also imaginative and you deserve to give voice to this part of yourself. This week, know that you don’t always have to give others what they want or expect. You have to be true to yourself — your whole, complicated, contradictory self — too. It may sound silly or sentimental, but this week, your primary duty is simply to be sweet—both to others and to yourself. You will probably read this and think that it is not enough, that you need to challenge and push yourself. And you’re right that kindness, by itself, won’t be enough forever. However, there are seasons for everything. Just as every minute of the day cannot be devoted to work, so every chapter of your life cannot be a chapter of tension. Consider, at least, that you are in a period (even a short one) of softness and see what happens if you act accordingly. As much as you enjoy your social life, you may underestimate how valuable it is. It’s more like a precious luxury, something separate (and potentially a distraction!) from the serious business of life: personal growth, career success, or the struggle for a better future. This week, however, you will be reminded of how important your people really are. Not the “important” ones, with the power to help you achieve your goals, but the ones that inhabit your everyday world. There is magic in being part of a rich network of friends, family, colleagues and neighbors who care about each other. If you make the people in your life a priority, you won’t regret it. Sometimes, boredom is necessary, even good: The small, daily chore of caring for each other isn’t often exciting, but it’s always worth it. Even the most important projects, the ones that really excite you, will involve some tedious tasks, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But there are other kinds of grief that you never have to accept. This week, you can refuse to repeat the same arguments over and over, spend your free time with people you don’t respect, or read books and watch shows you don’t care about because you think you “have to.” Your time belongs to you. do not forget it. It may be difficult for you to let others treat you generously. Experience has taught you that there are many people out there who you should not trust, offering friendship or support that comes with hidden strings attached. But this week, genuine kindness will enter your life, and your (surprisingly difficult) job is to let it in. You have to let your guard down enough to make connection possible, to reach out to others with an open heart. Not everyone in the world will treat you right, but a lot of people will, and you might be surprised by how much love they have to give you. These days, you feel like you’re destined to be good at everything, know-it-all, able to get along with everyone you meet. This pressure can come from your boss, your family, or yourself, but regardless of the source, it’s unreasonable. You don’t have to know or be everything. You just have to be you: a person, with your own beautiful, specific set of skills, experiences and ideas. Give yourself permission to devote yourself to what you are good at, what you love best. That will be enough. You know how short life is, how limited our time on earth is. To achieve your great aspirations, you know that you must use each day wisely in the service of your greater goals. But this week, you’ll face the reality that no one can be “on” all the time. It is not possible to maintain total control over your thoughts, your energy levels, your focus. If you’re riding too hard, which you probably are, make a point to loosen your grip. You have permission to do things that are not immediately “useful” and instead are enjoyable, fun. In fact, as a human being, you must. Lately, the weight of past regrets and mistakes has been dragging you down. There’s so much you wish you’d realized sooner and so much you wish you could have done differently that it’s hard to imagine a way forward. However, if you make the effort to repair damaged relationships this week, people will be more receptive than you think. If you do your best not to give in to shame or fear, but to learn and move on, you’ll be amazed at how the world opens up before you. You can’t redo the past, but you can change your life by starting now. Every once in a while, your usual worries disappear, if only for a little while, and you see yourself as you appear to those who love you. Through their eyes, you are careful and brave. your flaws are outweighed by all you have to offer. Moments of clear and uncomplicated self-love are rare, so when you experience them, as you will this week, don’t let them pass without warning. Remember what this is like. You can’t banish insecurity for good, but you can hold on to the knowledge that you deserve love.
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