Are you super busy? Does your day not feel normal if you aren’t working, or if you aren’t on the go?
Do you often feel something is missing in your life?
I see myself in all of the above from time to time. We all do.
What I have discovered is how my fast paced daily work-life carries into my home life. I tend to feel uneasy when I sit still, and I feel the urge to get up and produce something.
Our personalities are different, of course. Some of us are driven by production, some are driven by peaceful rest.
Think about people that you know that curl their legs beneath them and focus on a book with total abandonment to the world. Or, they take a walk, and they do not look at their phone while they do so. They enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, or nature. They sleep at night without wondering what they will do to manage an unfinished project at work. They pray in their quiet space each day, or several times a day, taking beautiful care of their mental and spiritual health. They turn Facebook off for 24 hours, or longer, and it does not leave them feeling like they are missing out on things of importance. They sit down with their baby, delighting in tiny wisps of laughter, instead of mopping the floor.
What do we do to shut it all off, to find peace (slow the pace down), to bring on the sense of complete in our world?
First, we realize that work will always be work. In other words, it is never-ending, and the only thing that separates us from it is to stand up and walk away. We close the door behind us and say work is never finished, but our work-life is.
Second, we realize that it is okay to sit still. It is okay to unload our minds and be quiet. It is okay to turn off the phone, or at least, to only check it occasionally for emergency calls or texts. It is okay to tell our friends that we are shutting down…and God bless the friends that urge you to do this!
Try this:
List the top 10 things that you personally value in life. Arrange this list by the most (#10) to the least important.
Of these top 10 things, write down what you have completed from the list today.
If your top 10 thing is to write, have you written today?
If your #10 is to connect with family, have you called your mother, sister, or brother today?
If your top 10 item is to enjoy nature, have you enjoyed nature today?
So, you don’t have a load of time today for the most valuable things on your list, how about #5, #3, or #1?
Post your list to the dash of your car, your refrigerator, on at the top of your calendar in your work space.
Make it a practice to make choices from your own personal value list each and every day.
The fidgety feeling of “What am I missing?,” or, “What should I do today?,” will ease itself off because you will be focusing your life on what you value.
Start now.
Let me know as it works for you.
The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important becuase of how long you life, you are important because of how effective you live. – Myles Munroe
MARY HUMPHREY COACHING 