Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got
Art Buchwald
The other day, while in the shower shampooing my hair, so many thoughts and schedules were ricocheting around my head that I accidentally conditioned my arm instead of my hair. I kid you not! My first thought was thank goodness no one saw that. Then I pretended nothing had happened and put conditioner on my hair as intended.
But of course something had actually happened and deep down I knew I couldn't really ignore it. It's been a busy time with moving house, arranging a trip away and a booming coaching practice to keep me on my toes. I took this incident as a sign that I needed to slow down.
These days many of us live with a slightly pressured feeling that no matter how hard we strive there is always something we haven't got to or that isn't getting the attention it needs. In fact, the most common concern I hear from clients is that they won't have the time to do what they need to do. In coaching speak, this translates to 'not having enough time to achieve your goals and live the life you want'.
People seem to have two ways of handling this, some push harder, work quicker and get more stressed, while others give up and collapse in a demotivated heap, eating junk food in front of the TV and not bothering to even try.
Happily, there are alternatives! Firstly, as with any change, acknowledging there is a problem and that you are unhappy with the situation is the starting point. It then becomes possible to look at options and find other ways of coping.
Interestingly enough, even when I do have enough time, that niggling feeling of not having enough time is still in the driving seat, urging me to hurry up. A statement like "I don't have enough time" might seem like a fact, but it isn’t. It is a belief and merely something you have been telling yourself, possibly for a very long time. By recognising that beliefs are not facts, we give ourselves space to choose our behaviour.
Experiment by slowing down and seeing what happens. Does the world come to a shuddering halt because you took your eye off the ball? I doubt it. In fact, the opposite often happens, the more relaxed and focused you are, the fewer mistakes you make and the easier life seems to trundle along.
Let me know how it goes.
Comments
Keep the good work up :)