This is a common question asked by many of my coaching clients. Often, the very thing you are trying to change – a life packed with demands and responsibilities at home and at work – leaves you very little time to reflect, to plan, and to start making the changes. Add to that the fact that all the aspects you want to change seem like a massive a job. Balance, health, awareness, do good for the community, family – how can you fit all this in?
Trying to do it all, trying to squeeze it in when you 'have a moment', just doesn't work
In her video (just click the play button above to watch), Cat talks about feeling overwhelmed when she looks at her dream board because in her current state of pressure and stress it simply doesn't seem possible. When she thinks about how it might happen, she doesn't want “just another shopping list of goals, because I've done that in the past and it begins to lose its meaning”.
Commit to one thing
This is one of the tips from my 10 simple steps to start changing your life today. Choose one small practice, and schedule a time for that to happen. Small and regular works best – just 10 minutes a day could be all you need to start making changes. I will often choose one question to reflect on for the week and make use of daily habits or space I already have in place – like exercising or doing the dishes. So I will think about my one question every time I go for a run, or am standing at the sink, and then jot down my thoughts and answers. In Cat's case, I challenged her to keep her daily 'looking after me' appointment for one week.
What's one small commitment you could make to yourself this week?
Image by zoutedrop
Related posts:
- 10 simple steps to start changing your life today
- How To Start Changing When You Don’t Know What You Want
- Inside Coaching with Jo: How do I find the time to make life changes?
- Inside Coaching: How do I find time for myself (without the guilt)?
- Overwhelmed by the big questions in life? Start small for big results.
Thanks Jo and Cat for those insights.
It’s always easy to look at ‘got it all together’ people and wonder if I’ll ever achieve any where near as much. But I remind myself that it’s my journey, and my achievements are just that … mine, and I mustn’t compare them with others’.
So the one thing that I’m changing is making sure I do that short exercise time every morning, especially as my Pilates instructor has shown me a quick, dynamic mat routine.
So like Cat and Rebecca, I’m sure that I’ll experience greater benefits than the small outlay suggests.
Keeping it manageable in terms of a time committment and regular is so important in developing a new habit and routine.
Desolie, when I see those people who look like “they have it all together” I ask myself “How are they doing thngs?” and “What can I learn from them”. It is a great opportunity to evaluate, reflect and then take on board something small that can bring big benefits.
I’m experiencing this work for me at the moment.
I’m on a 30 day challenge to hold a container of offline time for myself each morning. This is time to centre and start the day in a grounded way, to write for myself, and to do my most creative client work.
The one change I’m focussed on is giving myself that offline container, but doing that has many more positive knock on effects.