Do you hear that?
Listen.
Can you hear your inner voice begging you to slow down, relax, and take better care of yourself?
Do you hear it? It’s telling you that you can’t keep up this pace; you’re on the brink, and it never seems to end.
Let me guess. You hear it, but you dismiss it and keep going at warp speed, right?
After all, work, family, and your community have dumped a lot of expectations on you.
You’re convinced there is NO way you can slow down.
Seriously, you have that big project that’s due this week (and no room on your calendar to squeeze it in); you’re only halfway to meeting your monthly quota; one of your employees called out sick (again!), and oh yeah, you just remembered your promise to serve on a new committee last week… OMG!
You’re having what women my age call a “Calgon moment!”
Or is it?
What if we reframed those thoughts? What if you are instead having a “Listen to Your Life” moment?
Anytime you feel over-stressed, undervalued, and ready to crack, that’s the best time to pause and listen.
You want more out of your life. More free time. More space. More joy. How do I know? You are still reading this article, aren’t you? That speaks volumes.
Truth be told, you want to listen to your life; the problem is you don’t know how.
“And every day the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’ And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No, THIS is what’s important!’” – Iain Thomas
How does a woman with responsibilities, obligations, and duties to others learn to listen to her life?
First, you must become conscious of your choices and actions, rather than simply going through the motions day after day.
Hoping things will change but never doing anything to make them different is a sure recipe for maintaining the status quo.
To consciously live your life means you must pay attention when your inner voice of wisdom shows up.
Keep a small notepad with you at all times and start jotting down these golden “wisdom nuggets.” Take just a few minutes at the end of the day to read what you wrote. At the end of a week, re-read all seven days. What themes do you see? What shows up again and again?
Second, you must take action.
Now that you see your wisdom nuggets on paper, what will you do with these incredible insights?
You’re probably thinking, “Man, these are huge undertakings; where do I start?”
No, you can’t fix everything at once, but you CAN take deliberate action on one of those “wisdom nuggets.” Just one. Come up with two or three actions you can take to move you toward a solution. Then, take action!
This is often the hardest step. It will require you to take a stand for the life you truly want to live.
I’m going to let you in on a secret … you actually have a right and responsibility to live the life YOU want.
Give yourself permission. Tap into that inner power and declare HOW you want to live your life.
“All of our small anxieties and trivial preoccupations evaporate with the sudden recognition of what really matters.” – Arianna Huffington
How well are you honoring what really matters to you?
Third, you must develop a morning ritual.
I know, I know. You’ve heard this a thousand times and you don’t have time for that, but stay with me here. One of the key habits of highly effective leaders is committing to reflection time, affirmation time, or meditation time in the morning.
Studies show that just spending 20 minutes each morning engaging in some type of mindful exercise increases your productivity significantly throughout the day. You’ll have to trust me on this.
Making time for quiet reflection makes such a HUGE difference in how you approach your day and how you FEEL throughout the day.
How do I know this works? I once used these same steps to move from a corporate job I tolerated to a dream career I adore.
Are you ready to work with a coach who believes in you, who will hold you accountable, and who will support you to get you from where you are to where you want to be?
I thought so! I’d love to have a conversation with you about how we can work together so that you, too, can listen to your life.
It’s calling you. Can you hear it?
Contact us at support@womenignitingchange.com to set up a consultation time. I can’t wait to hear from you!
