This is a common theme, both behind the closed door in my office and outside of it. No one seems to “ have time ” to follow through with their personal needs or goals, nor to get the “ me ” time they deserve. We’re exhausted and stressed, and run from one event to the other.
Relaxation also seems like another item to put on the list of the never-ending events, and we can become down-trodden, wondering what it is all for ( our experience in this world ).
Are we are just running around in circles ?
Rather than give you many things to think about, and you feeling like a failure because you cannot get them all accomplished, I’m going to pose a few questions instead :
- How many hours of your day are dedicated to work commitments ?
- How many “ extra-curricular ” activities in your life are dedicated to seeing your family or friends( social obligations ) ?
- What activities do you remember participating in as a child that you enjoyed ?
- What things are you truly thankful for every day ?
The point of some of the above questions is to stimulate a little self-reflection. Are your commitments that are supposed to be fun just draining your energies ? Is most of your week revolving around work ? Balance, or the yin and yang of life should involve some give and take, busy weeks and calmer weeks. Are all of your weeks looking the same, and the theme of more being the norm than less ?
The truth is, there never is more time. We have to cut out sections of time for ourselves in our lives by establishing both priorities for ourselves and our families that are based on real priorities, and not imagined. A real priority is our work—but perhaps establishing boundaries as much as possible with when the work day ends is something to start. An imagined priority is fitting in a weekend barbecue every weekend for the entire summer with all 17 members of your entire family—initially sounds fun, but ends up being more of a headache.
How do you want your life to look ? Visualizing our reality and carving it out takes some dedication—you are worth it. However, you will have to be the person to advocate that for yourself.