Pause

Do you ever wish you could have a remote for life with a fully equipped pause button?

Well, I'm about to challenge that thought and suggest that you actually do have that power already. And it is something that you should be in the habit of doing often.

A few months ago I embarked on my own personal journey - there was nothing particularly catastrophic or significant. Just a whole lot of commitments, scheduled all at the same time, with an increasing amount of pressure.

I have become in tune with the feeling of 'overwhelm' and so I recognised the situation as a potential burn-out zone, and did a bit of a life stocktake.

What commitments are here to stay? Where are my priorities? What can shift? What can not? What can I let go of? What do I have to hold on to?

You see, when we are stretched to the max, one of the things we feel we don't have enough of is time. And so often we do not commit time to checking in with ourselves. Before we know it we are not just stretched to the max, but also stretched thin...feeling the strain...and potentially snapping.

It goes against our very nature - when you start to feel like you have no time...that is precisely the moment you need to take some time. Take time out, take check of all of your commitments and pressures, and start to take action.

One of the things I decided to take some time from is blogging. I love to write, but I also love to coach. Coaching has a positive impact on the lives of others, and as much as I would like my blog to as well, I know that my articles can wait a little. And so I did. The wheels didn't fall off. I'm still here. And what's more, I maintained a bit of sanity! :D There were other things I let go of too, but I could only make those decisions by taking the time and reflecting on my commitments.

There were things I didn't let go of too. By reflecting on my commitments, I also could focus on my priorities. My husband, my daughter, my health...these were things that I could not neglect. They had to remain my highest of priority. So that means family time, meal planning, date night (even if it was staying in and watching netflix...). Next were commitments of most importance - my clients, work deadlines and projects that I could not delegate. By looking at these it helped me to make a picture of what I *needed* to achieve.

Finally there was a whole pile of 'don't have to dos' - things that I was either doing because I wanted to, because I felt like I had to, or said I would when I really should have let someone else do it. These were the things to either delegate out, postpone or let go.

You see, the pause button is very real. And you should press it. Often. The pause button allows you to see the whole picture - not just the thing in the middle of the screen catching your main attention. But, the thing with pause buttons is that it is up to you to press it. Otherwise life just keeps on racing by.

Sometimes when we pause we can still feel a bit overwhelmed with the 'now what?' feeling. This is where a coach can be really useful! If you are in need of help to plan your next steps, or to get on top of that feeling of overwhelm, contact me!

#goals #success #bossbabe #goalsetting #getstuffdone #pause #reflect #priorities