Are you looking at your diary and thinking ‘How can it be November already? Where has this year gone?’ There is so much that I wanted to do in 2014!’
These thoughts can make us feel panicky and as a result we might start filling our diaries, packing things in and making plans so that we can direct some of that agitated energy into action. But how much of what we plan and fill our time with is actually what we really want to do with our time?
For a moment, let’s just step back and imagine that we are in a supermarket doing a weekly shop and we are hungry. We grab our trolley and set off, wanting to rush through the experience so that we can get home and eat. We whiz up and down the aisles, possibly buying more than we usually do as everything looks so tempting and inviting because our stomach is growling. We get to the checkout in record time with a groaning trolley filled with delicious things.
The cashier scans everything through and we salivate as we start imagining what we are going to eat.The bill is quite a bit more than we normally would pay, but –what the heck? – we have bought lots that will last us for ages. It’s only when we get home and start to unpack (gobbling up a bag of crisps, some nuts or a banana on the way home!) that we realise that we haven’t really shopped well. There is undoubtedly plenty of food there, but not many meals. In our hungered state, we haven’t been able to plan and buy accordingly. We may have lots of snacks, milk, bread, fruit and cheese, we may have some meat or fish, but when we look at it on the counter we realise that we have forgotten the eggs for the tortilla that we fancied or we have no rice to go with the prawn curry.
It’s about priorities.
I went to a brilliant talk last week at Corrina Gordon Barnes’ Community Meetup and the speaker, Hannah Braime told us that until the 19th century there was no such word as priorites – it was singular – priority, it defined the most important thing, not things.
It might be impossible for us to only have one priority these days, but use the supermarket metaphor as a guide for these last few weeks of the year. Are you racing around filling your time with lightweight activities that make you feel busy, but in the meantime, those more substantial dreams, plans and priorities for this year get trampled underfoot? Are you feeding your hunger for life with low-nutrition pastimes while the really nourishing stuff gets neglected?
As yourself today – ‘What is my priority?’
What is the one thing that you really want to do today? What is the one thing that at the end of the day, you will be proud/happy/relieved that you did? My suggestion is that you do it first before anything else no matter how large or small it is. It could be going for a run, doing 2 hours work on your tax return, dealing with a complicated email, calling your best friend. It’s important, so do it first.
What is the one thing that you really want to do this week or by the end of the month or year? Make some steps towards it. Set aside a day to clear out that cupboard full of junk, join the gym and plan to go this weekend instead of in January or make an appointment with a recruitment consultant. Just by taking these steps, I guarantee that you will feel better and your ‘to do’ list will feel less overwhelming because you will be dealing with the important stuff – not just the stuff.
If you can really identify with this post, I will be going deeper with this topic with one to one phone or Skype sessions starting in January.
To begin with, these will only be part of a special package that a group of local practitoners and I have joined together to create, so will only be available to London dwellers (or those willing to travel!). This lovely package offers sessions to relax and rebalance you but also time out to get clear on what you would like the next year to hold for you. As well as Amatsu, I will be offering 50-minute Purpose and Peace sessions which will give you time to look at your priorities (or even priority!) for the coming year in a relaxed and supportive space. You will come away feeling more clarity, a sense of direction and greater enthusiasm for the year ahead. You will also have some tools that you can use yourself throughout the year to keep you on track!
If this sounds of interest, hit ‘Reply’ now with Purpose and Peace sessions in the subject, no other information needed. I will be in touch with you in the next 2 weeks with more information and prices.
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