I enjoy re-visiting posts from our Living Savvy archives. When I re-visit, I tend to connect to the information and stories shared in a new way, discovering something different depending on what is going on for me or people in my life.
When I am coaching someone, very often an issue will come up that will have me searching through the archives for a post best suited to help my client work through the process of Living Savvy, supporting them to ask, do, discover, commit & celebrate.
Stressed out. Over loaded. Too much to do and too little time to do it. I experience this myself, and I hear it from family, friends and coaching clients. So many women are feeling the pressure of keeping up with family, work, social and community commitments. In a busy schedule, the first thing to be sacrificed is personal time. Particularly, personal recovery time. Time to be alone and free of any obligations. Time to unwind, rest, reflect or even play.
We know it’s good for us (and for our loved ones as well)
Of course, we know we’re no good to our family or friends if we burn out. Staying healthy, performing at our best and maintaining a positive outlook, means making time to step away from everyday stresses and simply relax.
But this is about much more than just keeping the take-care-of-everyone-else machinery running. Unlocking our potential to live extraordinary requires deep questioning and quiet reflection (hard to squeeze into a tight schedule). Quality ‘time out’ provides the vital space needed for new understandings and insights to emerge.
Sounds great, but who has the time?
It’s a nasty catch-22, isn’t it? I find that just when I need it the most, just when I’m busiest, it seems impossible to find any time for myself.
The good news is that creating space to unwind and reflect does not mean overhauling your life. You don’t have to spend a week on silent meditation retreat nor a weekend at an expensive health spa (though either one might be nice in the right circumstances!).
In fact, I’ve learnt that making the most of the ordinary moments in your day can produce more powerful results than grand once-a-year holidays.
Begin with a brief daily appointment
This is an appointment with you, and it’s one you should to keep as diligently as you would an appointment with any other important person. It can be as little as fifteen minutes, though longer would be better.
The important thing is to establish a time and honour it. It’s time for you. Do something that brings you into the moment, something conducive to quiet contemplation (though you are not obligated to think about anything at all if you don’t want to), or something that simply makes you happy.
The only rule is: no multi-tasking! Slowly savour a cup of your favourite tea, go for a run around your neighbourhood, or capture your thoughts in a journal. Create this small, ordinary space in your day, every day, and you might be surprised by extraordinary shifts that start to take place.
Image by CoCreatr
Related posts:
