What You’re Dying to Know… (about yourself) Part 2

Welcome Back! This week we are making sense of that crazy list we brought to light last week.

I am realistic. There are 24 hours in a day, I have a full time job, I need sleep, and I have family and a social life.  BUT, before I hit the button on my remote to tell my TV “YES, I am still watching…”  and decide to tackle my dreams of being a well balanced woman who can do it all another time, I try to put things into perspective.

I get that it’s easy to take one look at that overwhelming lineup and feel ready to tap out of this little exercise, but stay with me!

When I’ve tried to force through life checking off as many boxes as possible, and just hoped it all panned out, I usually reached a breaking point. With my head in my hands I’ve thought, maybe it’s just not possible. Maybe I needed to go through the motions to get things done without going against the current. I should give up the burden of trying for more.

I won’t let myself believe that lie though, and I hope you won’t either. We have one life, and actively participating can be a lot more fulfilling and exciting than waking up everyday and wondering what you’re doing, and how you got there. It doesn’t have to feel like such a burden though.

1. What is your big picture goal? – You have your highlighted and starred agenda. It’s great to say you want to start eating well and exercising, but it’s easy to move those things off the priority list. Ask yourself what the tasks are addressing. What are your values? What are your fears? What is it you really want to achieve?
   
2. What immediate changes are vital to your goal? – You could focus on one item or maybe a few. Keep in mind what changes most align with your current motivation.
3. How can you reprioritize your time?-  It’s easy to tell ourselves we just don’t have the time to put energy into new things, but try taking a closer look first.
   
   Try making three buckets including ALL the activities and tasks you currently spend your time on.
   • What do you have to do? – We all have bills, obligations and things that have to happen in order for our lives to function. It’s best we are realistic and aware of what these tasks are.
   • What do you feel called to do? – What things may not be essential to your life structurally, but they are essential to you personally. This bucket will probably be where your new habits fall.
   • What do you want to do? –  What are those things you do almost every day purely out of personal desire? These activities usually don’t help us achieve anything in particular, for the most part they are just indulgences.

Now you have a genuine lay of the land of all the components in your life, and wherever things land is perfectly fine. Consider how you can work with the placement.

• • Things you have to do – Can you spend a little extra time planning once a week so you can take care of certain tasks more efficiently throughout the week? 
  • Things you want to do – What is taking up the most time, and giving you the least return? No need to cut anything out right away if it feels too drastic, but what can you be conscious about minimizing?
  • Things you feel called to do –  Now that you’ve wiggled a little of the mundane and the indulgent around, what kind of space do you have left for this sweet spot? It can be helpful to schedule some carved out, protected time, to start practicing these new habits, free from distraction.

So, that’s a lot, I know. Like most things, it’s easier said than done, but it’s worth trying, and more importantly worth figuring out why you want to try.

When you decide you want to change your eating habits because you want to reduce or prevent a health issue for yourself and your family… or have more energy to interact with your loved ones or to achieve a career goal… or because you want to do your part to reduce your impact on the environment or the mistreatment of animals, it becomes more of a matter of personal accountability than a check box. 

We’re all figuring this out as we go. It can be overwhelming and a little daunting, but it is also fun and exciting to take some control of the direction your life is headed! Again, feel free to share and reflect how you see fit.

I’m looking forward to jumping back into tips and plant-based hacks next week! Maybe we’ll all head in with a little more intention.