Since my journey to Peru I have made a deliberate effort to change some of the actions that I feel no longer serve me. They are very simple in their essence, yet challenging. For example, I was in the habit of waking up and immediately grabbing my phone, turning it on, and checking emails and text messages. I live in another time zone than many of my friends and my business partner, so my 8am is their 11 am. I woke up with anxiety that something would happen during their morning that I had to attend to immediately. So right off the bat I set myself up for anxiety and stress without even getting a cup of coffee or tea in my system! I also found that Facebook, which is a blessing in many ways, was cutting into my real life time. Instead of reading or meditating, I was scrolling down the feed, and before I know it, and hour of my life has been lost.
As a teacher, guide, and coach, I decided that I needed to practice all of the great advice that I so freely dispense to my clients. I have made the conscious effort to replace my email and phone use in the morning to reading my current book, meditating, and being in silence. In regards to Facebook, although it is an amazing way to connect and to market, I no longer post or read the feed. The amazing thing is that now more of my friends are actually calling me, which is exactly the point! We may feel that we are in our loved ones lives because we see pictures of their babies, pets, and celebrations, but isn’t it more joyful to hear their voices?
In sharing my personal journey please no that there is no judgment in any way. These are simple (but not so simple) steps that I have made to eliminate stress and to make better use of my time. In the big picture, there is very little that we have control over, but we do have control over our behaviours and actions. When we look at ourselves, each one of knows that there is a habit or a pattern that we could adjust to make our lives more fulfilling. I invite you to take some time to investigate a few little changes that could add up to big results. You know yourself better than anyone else does, so be authentic and honor your needs and wants. Take the opportunity to set an intention for the new year before the holidays arrive!