rich minds, rich rewards
Making Time For What You Want
CBN.com –As
I do interviews and speak on the topic of my book, What's Really
Holding You Back?, many people have asked for the simple answer
to that question. What I have discovered is that often, it is
not obvious what's holding us back from our vision. For many people,
it is the shaky foundation on which they operate that most holds
them back. With no room to give focus to what's really important
and a schedule that is consistently overloaded, the opportunity
to make significant progress towards key goals feels elusive.
This week, as you strive to meet deadlines or juggle multiple
responsibilities, I invite you to consider whether your overloaded
schedule is too crowded to truly pursue the goals that are most
important to you.
One of the biggest causes of stress is that we are constantly
trying to do more with less. As a result, we don't give ourselves
much margin for error. Whether the issue is money, time or rest,
make a habit of giving yourself some leeway. Life has taught me
that, more often than not, things do not go exactly as planned.
If you make a habit of 'cutting it close,' you probably also find
yourself regularly stressed out because you never have enough
time to accomplish what you've set out to accomplish.
There are numerous examples of areas of our lives where a margin
would help reduce our level of stress and allow us to focus on
what's most important. Do you find yourself living an overloaded
life? You keep doing more and more and more until not only is
there no margin between your load and your limits, but you have
overextended yourself and exhausted your resources. Those resources
can be time, money, workload, volunteer work or other activities
that stretch you beyond reasonable limits. Whatever the case,
creating a margin for yourself in your daily life is essential
to creating a life you love. Consider your answers to some of
the following questions to determine if you are suffering from
overload that may be holding you back from living your best life.
1. Do you find yourself running late on a regular basis?
2. Do you wait until the last minute to begin working on projects
and then find yourself in a hurry to finish on time?
3. Is your level of debt (excluding your mortgage) more than
you could pay off in a year with your existing income?
4. Are you always accessible to others (i.e., you carry a mobile
phone, pager and check your messages constantly)?
5. Do you feel as though the activities and projects you have
committed to on a day-to-day basis are more than you have time
to complete?
If you answered yes to any of these questions you should ask
yourself whether you are overloading yourself. If so, what decisions
do you need to make that would allow you to create some margin
so that you can reduce your level of stress?
The mentality that says that you should do, buy and work as much
as you possibly can is detrimental to your well-being. It is also
detrimental to your vision for your life. So often it seems that
as a society, we are doing more and more, and enjoying less and
less. Margin is the space you give yourself so that you have room
to create and maintain a joyful, fulfilling life.
My challenge to you this week:
Identify at least one area in which you need more space - more
margin for error. Then identify at least one action you can take
this week to create that space and give yourself some margin.
Journaling question:
Ask yourself, "How could I create more space in my life on
a permanent basis?"
Registration
Open for New Winter and Spring Coaching Groups and Teleclasses!
(All groups and teleclasses are conducted by phone.)
Find out more and register online at http://www.valorieburton.com/tele.html.
A sought-after
life coach and speaker, Valorie Burton’s purpose is inspiring
people to live more fulfilling, less stressful lives. She
is the author of Listen to Your Life, What’s Really Holding
You Back? and Rich Minds, Rich Rewards.
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