OnTheBeach – Don’t Let The B’s Grind You Down

My parents have a saying “Don’t let the b*stards grind you down” – and there are times when this is the most pertinent advice that can be given! Because this is exactly what happens if you’re not vigilant – years and years of criticism, minor annoyances and unsupportiveness can just grind down your good humour and confidence. Don’t let the b*stards grind you down.

How do you stop them??? Well, trying to stop anyone else doing anything is an exercise in futility! So here’s what you can do: don’t take it on. Don’t give away your power to someone else. Don’t allow other people to put you down. They can say the words, but if you don’t listen, those words have no power alone. Words can be like acid, corroding and eating away at you…but not if you don’t take it on.

Put it this way, if someone called you a blueberry, how much would you take that on board? How much would you allow that to hurt you? How much would you repeat it and keep hurting yourself with it? I am hoping you are saying ‘not at all’!! But if they call you ‘stupid’ or they criticise you or are unsupportive, that’s exactly what we do – we take it as gospel, we allow ourselves to be hurt by it, we repeat it to ourselves and others and pick the scab off the hurt so much that we are scarred by it.

Funnily enough, when we get a compliment, we don’t give that the same amount of energy and care! Interesting how we’re more prepared to think the worst of ourselves eh? Anyway, we’re talking about not letting the b*stards grind you down. Here’s what I do when faced with an insult, a criticism, an annoyance, “feedback”: I look at it objectively (once I’ve calmed down if it riled me!) and try to see their point of view. If they have a point, I take it as welcome help to improve – then I let it go. If they don’t, I just let it go.

Notice that I do get riled (oh my god, I’m HUMAN! Shock horror) – but I don’t give them the power to ruin my whole life! It is just a point of view, just a moment in time, just something given (often thoughtlessly). One person telling you that you are wrong does not make you wrong 100% of the time! So stop taking on this stuff – know yourself better, have confidence in yourself, and instead of repeating the bad stuff, repeat this like a mantra: I know that you are amazing, intelligent, worthy, wonderful and a really good laugh. Don’t let anyone tell you different!

- Something To Play With -

Notice what you do when someone annoys, criticises or insults you. Do you shrug it off and move on? Or do you chew over old soup until you make yourself sick on it?? For this week, experiment with only repeating to yourself the nice things people have said to you – keep chewing them over, you’ll find they taste a lot better!

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – Time to Make a Difference

I find this time of year really interesting when it comes to people’s goals/intentions/plans for their lives. Oh, it’s December, no point starting a healthy eating plan now. Oh, it’s nearly Christmas, I can’t give up smoking now. I’ll start 2012 with a resolution to drink less/save more/find a new job/date more/connect with my intuition/design my life/start a business/take up a new hobby/have some more fun.

Erm. Can I just point out that there are still 45 days in 2011?! Why wait? Why put it off until January – or maybe February because January’s miserable enough without doing something difficult…or March because February’s a short month…or even April because March is busy…and the excuses go on until another year has passed, it’s next November and you’re thinking ‘hey, no point starting now, I’ll start 2013 with a resolution to drink less/save more/find a new job/date more/connect with my intuition/design my life/start a business/take up a new hobby/have some more fun.

You think I am exagerating? Can you think of a goal/intention/plan that you’ve been meaning to get into for YEARS? That’s now getting put off AGAIN until next year? Thought so. I actually find that this is a GREAT time of year to take some real action on my goals. One year I packed my job in at the end of November, the year before I gave up smoking on the 11th December, the previous year I paid off my debts in December. And the wonderful thing about it is that you can start the New Year with a spring in your step, already proud that you’ve made a start. And let’s face it, if you can make progress to make your life FABULOUS around Christmas, with all its distractions and busy-ness, you can do it ANYTIME!

I know what you’re thinking…I’m trying to ruin the festive season for you by making you go on a diet of water and celery or work yourself into the ground and miss out on Christmas parties. No. Your action does not have to be something massive and time-consuming to be impactful. For example, I am on a weight-loss programme, and my goal for December is to lose 2 pounds despite Christmas – if I do this, I will be at my goal weight at the beginning of January! And it should be relatively easy – I shall still eat, drink and be merry, but I will also have ‘good days’ and keep up the exercise (so I’ll probably keep up the daily practice of dancing which will not exactly be a hardship!)

The trick is to make your action EASY – just make progress on your most important goals and desires. Imagine if you took just a small step towards what you want EVERY DAY until the end of the year. How much progress do you think you could make? How would it feel to start next year knowing that you are already well on the way to achieving one of your dreams? Imagine if you worked on the novel you’ve always write for half an hour every day, by the end of the year, you’d have done 22 and a half hours of writing. A lot of progress can be made in ‘just’ 45 days of action…so how are you going to end the year? With a whimper? Or with time to make a difference to your life?

And if you want help to end the year with a flourish, see this week’s special offer!

- Something to Play With -

Use this exercise to help you end the year on a high note of action and achievement:
- Pick the one goal/intention/plan that will make the most difference to your life.
- What can you do every day to make progress on this goal?
- Tell someone what you’re planning to do – if you’re feeling really brave, e-mail me, I’ll put your action plan in next week’s newsletter and we’ll all encourage you!
- DO IT – make a difference to 2012.
Want to share your thoughts on this article? Please leave a comment below.

- Beach Card of the week -

“Connection to the source – keep your connection to the creative energy of all there is, and use it as rocket fuel! You know you’re connected when you feel joyous, giggly-happy, full of vibrant energy and life – what makes you feel this way? And make sure you do it often to get your connection to the source energy flowing.” For a daily ‘beach card’, join us on Facebook.

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – Revealing the Sculpture

Michelangelo said that a sculptor just chipped away at a stone to reveal the beauty within. This got me thinking – isn’t this what we all do with our lives? We hold a vision of the life we want and start chipping away to reveal that life…by getting the education we want, the job, the partner, the dog, the f’ing big television…and so on. But then somehow we lose sight of what it is we’re creating, or we forget that we are creating something, or we get discouraged and put down the chisel.

Then we sit looking at the unfinished block of marble that is our life, and we complain that it’s ugly and incomplete, missing key elements. We forget that there is a work of art hiding inside that incompleteness, and more importantly, we forget that we are the sculptor. Ok, let me just move metaphor aside for a moment and ask you a question. Are you consciously creating your life? Hmm…make that 2 questions. Do you have a vision you are working towards?

When we are young, naïve and foolish, we have dreams and ambitions we have no idea how to fulfil, and no fear about fulfilling them. A few setbacks, some discouragement and an amount of time later and we give up on our dreams, telling ourselves that we were young, naïve and foolish to think we could create a masterpiece in the first place. Well, I say BRING BACK youth, naivite and foolishness!

You don’t necessarily have to bring back your original dreams – speaking for myself, I no longer want the same kind of life I wanted when I was 18! The life I am now chipping away to reveal is very different from the one I initially envisioned. In fact, I had to get a new block of marble and start again with my life sculpture because the first attempt was just too darn small. You can pick up the chisel again any time you like…and much of the fun of sculpture is the process of creation – once you get the finished article, you’re off to the next after a moment of admiration.

Much like life. You have a vision of what you want, you stop to admire it for 30 seconds (maybe) and then you’re off to create the next work of art. Only in life, we often don’t stop to appreciate that creation process, or the initial design process. We don’t always keep an eye on whether our original vision has changed and whether we need a bigger chisel. The exciting thing is that whether you are aware of it or not, you are the artist, and your life is hiding in that block of marble, just waiting to be revealed.

Something to play with
What is the vision you have for your life? Don’t worry if it’s a bit unclear at the moment – the design process is delicious! Whatever stage you’re at – visualising your design, ready to pick up the chisel, half-way through chipping away – today resolve to remember that you are the creator of your life, and wield that chisel with pride and joy!

Want to share your thoughts on this article? Leave me a comment below.

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – Taking Inspired Action

When you are working towards a goal (say, having a life full of purpose, passion and joy for example!), what sort of action do you take? Do you take the next logical step, even when every fibre of your being is screaming at you to do something illogical and seemingly unrelated? Or do you follow your inspiration? Taking your whims and fleeting random thoughts as instructions to do something utterly fabulous? For most of us, it is the former. The logical steps. The ‘next’ steps. And there is nothing intrinsically wrong with that! Next steps will get you there…

But there are shortcuts to where we want to go. Little cut-throughs that we tend to ignore because we can’t see where they go. Have you ever seen one of these when out for a walk? A path that leads…somewhere. But because you can’t see where it goes, you stay with the path you’re on. I have never been good at ‘staying on the beaten track’. Whenever I see a path that goes…somewhere, or a road I’ve never been down, or a door I’ve never opened, I want to go that way and find out what’s down there. In the car, this has usually meant one of two things – I either get lost, or I find a shortcut. And I like a shortcut, a rat run, a different (sometimes quicker, sometimes easier) way of getting from A to B. I also don’t mind being lost. After all, I’ve had plenty of practice!

And I am the same in life. I listen to my intuitive nudges, my inspiration, the little whispers that tell me to do something seemingly unrelated to what I’m working on. And sometimes, I admit, I do get a bit lost or distracted. But many times that little inspiration takes me somewhere utterly fabulous. By following the inspired actions, I have found resources, people and fun stuff that I would never have seen if I’d stayed on the beaten path. And the more I take inspired action, the more I recognise the inspiration, the more I see the little lightbulb go on, and the more I move forward into the fabulous life I am creating.

Inspired action is the whisper from the universe to help you get what you want from life, but sometimes it looks like a distraction. Take the case of Chris, who was looking for a job, and got a nagging thought to call an old friend who just happened to have started a new company and needed staff. Coincidence? No, inspiration. The universe is always trying to help us along, but we think we know better and just ignore those whispers. And sure, sometimes the whispers seem to lead nowhere…but I am a big believer that no inspired action is EVER wasted. Sometimes it is just what you need in that moment. The other day I got a whisper to go to a local reservoir to watch the sun set. It was just what my soul needed, irrespective of what I was ‘working on’ right then.

How do you recognise inspired action? Notice that I said ‘recognise’ – this is something that is already there within you, whispering. It is not action that ‘seems like a good idea’. It is not action that you ‘thought’ would be a logical next step. It is not action that always makes sense! In fact, sometimes it is difficuld to explain to someone else why it is something you need to do! It is inspired, coming from your intuition, sometimes enormously illogical, but you know it’s ‘right’. I know you have experienced this before, we all have. And we all have the ability to tap into this inspiration more and more – unfortunately many of us are too used to going down the logical path. But logic was only invented to justify our intuitive decisions!!! So listen to your inspirations…and TAKE ACTION!

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – What Would Love Do Now?

This week’s article is inspired by the Beach Card of the week: “What would love do now? Remember that love is strong, not a doormat.”. I hope you enjoy it!

We’re on the last few days of our October Daily Practice. Did you laugh every day? There’s still time! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this practice, and I’ve got another fun one lined up for November – I hope you’ll join me!

To get a daily Beach Card, and to get reminders of the Daily Practice (and this month, links to make you laugh, rubbish jokes and quotes about laughter!), come and join me on Facebook.

- What Would Love Do Now? -

Yesterday I had a mini-meltdown. I have one about once a month, if ya know what I’m sayin’?! And although it was so tempting to force myself to stay at my desk and keep my nose firmly to the grindstone, my higher self intervened and advised me to finish early (20 minutes early, but hey, early finish is early finish!) Today, having come down off the ceiling, I can see that my highest self suggested the most loving thing I could do for myself in that situation. It answered the question “What would love do now?” Love, funnily enough, would not keep me chained to my desk when I was upset and struggling, it would let me go take care of myself so I can come back raring to go this morning.

But how often do we do what love would do for us? The way most of us treat ourselves is more ‘what would our evil stepmom do to us now’ than ‘what would love do’. Don’t you think that’s a bit sad? We are all wonderful, divine sparks of uniqueness and brilliance (yes, even you) and yet we are treated most of the time like we are naughty children. In fairness, that’s the way most of us are brought up. You just get on with it…until you no longer can. You bottle it all up, until you explode like an angry bottle of champagne. You keep on pushing and pushing and pushing…because that’s what we do with our lazy, bad selves.

Ouch! The weird thing is that everyone I have ever coached, and indeed everyone I have ever known responds much better to love, support, encouragement, empowerment than to being pushed to the point of exhaustion, snide comments and mean-ness. How about you? Do you respond better to loving, nurturing and confidence-building? Have you ever tried to do that with yourself? And with others? Think of a situation you are in, either just yourself or involving another person. What would love do in that situation?

And let me be VERY clear here. Love is not a pushover. Love is strong. Love is gentle but very firm. Love does not lie down and allow people to walk all over her. In an abusive situation, the most loving thing to do for yourself is GET OUT, and the most loving thing you can do for the abuser is to GET OUT. It is not loving to anyone to stay in a situation where one person is being abused and another is abusing. Love would let the abuser know that abuse is not acceptable. Isn’t that the most loving thing to do? It’s like setting boundaries with dogs, kids, friends and family. If they know your boundaries, they don’t have to try to guess what is appropriate and what is not. When strong boundaries are set (an act of love for ourselves and those around us), we can respect them (another act of love).

So what would love do in your situation? What is the most loving thing you can do for yourself today? What is the most loving thing you can do for another person today? Remembering that love is strong, gentle and wise. May love light your path ahead today and every day, may you be cradled in the arms of love all your life and may love flow through your heart, expanding your capacity to give and receive love and filling you with joy.

- Something to Play With -

In every situation you find yourself in this week, ask ‘what would love do now?’ And let me know what love would do for you – leave a comment below.

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – The Voice of Wisdom

This week, the beach card “Learn to listen to your intuition” inspired me to bring an article about listening to your inner knowing out of the archives – I hope it inspires you to listen to the voice inside you that knows. You know what I’m talking about – that voice that whispers to you in the stillness of your heart, beseeching you to listen to it. For example, as I was writing that sentence, the little voice inside me asked me to send an e-mail to a friend I haven’t seen in a while. I don’t know why, but I trust the voice of wisdom…and I hope you do too! And if you should get a feeling or a thought while reading this about someone you think needs to read it too, please listen to your voice of wisdom and share it! Thank you.

- The Voice of Wisdom -

Do you trust yourself? Do you know that you know the answers to whatever questions are plaguing you? Do you look inside for the wisdom that you know is there, and do you trust that what you are doing is the right thing for you, always? It’s an interesting phenomena that so few of us do trust ourselves to do the right thing.

Nor do we trust that we know what is best for ourselves. Our inner wisdom is an incredible gift, yet we often ignore it in favour of something which is bad for us because we can’t justify what the inner voice says. There is no logical reason for it, therefore it must be wrong. Personally, I think logic is a daft reason to do anything, but that is another story.

Let me give you an example of this inner wisdom – several years ago, I decided to go to Australia backpacking. I ‘knew’ that it was the right thing for me to do at that time. I couldn’t explain ‘why’ and I couldn’t give ‘reasons’ – except that I knew it was right. The sensible thing at the time would have been to go for promotion, buy a house, settle down – and I ‘knew’ that was not the answer for me.

Most people thought I was barking mad, and that I would never do it, but I ‘knew’. I consider myself very lucky, because that was the first time that my inner wisdom asserted itself, and now I know exactly how it sounds. I know that my inner wisdom doesn’t need logic or reasons – in fact, I know if I am giving reasons, I am trying to justify something to my wisdom, rather than the other way round.

What about you? Can you recognise the voice of your inner wisdom? Here’s a tip – your inner wisdom doesn’t think you’re an idiot! So, what do you ‘know’ about your situation? Think of something that you are struggling with, something that you need to sort out. What does your inner wisdom say to you? Don’t think of reasons or justifications, just get in touch with what you know.

Your inner wisdom is a huge resource that often gets ignored – maybe because it’s impractical to follow your intuition. And here’s the thing – if you give it a chance, that still, small voice within will give you the strength and the practical steps you need. By listening to what it is saying to you, you also give it the opportunity to help you do what you need to. So, what does the still small voice within say to you today?

- Something to Play With -

What does the voice of your inner wisdom sound like? How do you recognise it? What is it saying to you today? Want to share your thoughts on this article? Leave me a comment below.

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – Follow The Energy

When I am sending my weekly article to my list, I now decide what article to send you by picking a ‘Beach Card’ and expanding on that – either with a previous article or something new…and this week the card picked is spooky for 2 reasons – one, it’s exactly what I was doing yesterday – following the (lack of) energy straight to the bath – with a good book and bubbles up to my nose! And secondly because this article was first published a year ago. Maybe there’s something in the energy of this time of year?! Let me know if this article is particularly relevant to you right now.

- Follow the Energy -

I was on a group call last night with the fabulous Joel Young about NPA – a lovely method for freeing and allowing energy. Joel was talking about following the animation – the things that have energy. You know how your energy changes and goes down when you are, say, moaning about the weather? And how it changes and goes up when you are talking about something you love to do – like holidays, gigs, nights out with friends etc. Well that positive animation is what we’re talking about.

Joel likened it to surfing a wave – following that energy. When we are trying to ‘make’ ourselves do something…we are trying to surf on a millpond! That’s why sometimes it is so difficult to get something done…and on another day, you will fly through the same task. So where is the animation for you today? Where is the energy? What are you interested in and engaged by? Not what you ‘should’ be doing, but where the energy is building with a wave ready for you to surf.

If this is something you are not used to doing, it might sound a little hard…but it just takes a bit of practice. So start to notice – where is the animation? Where is the interest? What has a a wave of energy? Go do that – follow the energy and see where it takes you. I have found that following the energy makes life 1000 times easier. When I am trying to make the energy flow, life is harder, stuff takes longer, I am constantly getting stuck and it feels bad.

Take writing a blog post for example, if I try to write when there is no energy to write, I could sit at the laptop for a week without writing anything useful! But today, now, the energy is flowing…and this has taken 10 minutes so far. What a difference! Now there are times when you’ve just got to do it, and at those times, you can build the energy – for example, to get my accounts done, I put on some loud music and raise my energy so I can ‘get it done’.

But it’s becoming rare that I will try to force myself to go where the energy is not these days. And when I do, I remember it is a very inefficient way of living! As you start to follow the energy, you will notice that just by following what wants to be done, that naturally raises your energy for other tasks so you don’t have to artificially boost the energy. Tap into that energy of life that is all around you and just watch your life get easier as you ride that wave.

- Something to Play With -

Notice where the energy and animation is and follow it, notice how life gets easier when you ride the wave of energy (or if there is no energy, you rest!). Want to share your thoughts on this article? Please leave a comment below. Or pop over to my facebook page and leave a comment there.

- Beach Card of the week -

“Where is the energy leading you today? What wants to be done? Follow the energy – it feels good.”

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – A Triumph of Hope and Ingenuity

This is an article I wrote last year just after the Chilean miners were released – the message is just as relevant today, I hope you enjoy it.

Have you been watching the Chilean miners being brought out today?  I have had the news on in the background all day – a very rare thing for me as I usually cannot bear the negativity and scare-mongering they indulge in.  However, today’s story is largely a positive representation, even hardened news journalists are a little misty eyed over each emotional reunion every man has had with his family.

It is a complete triumph of hope and ingenuity over negativity and pessimism.  First that these men managed to survive underground for 17 days without any contact with the outside world, then that they have survived underground for over 2 months, and finally that the solution has worked more quickly than expected and so far is going immensely smoothly.  (and that they have emerged from that cocoon without panicking – I didn’t do so well when I was in an MRI machine for 25 minutes!)

When considering what I would send out for this week’s newsletter, this was the story that wouldn’t let me go.  I have no intention of rehashing all the news of this – I’ll leave that to the news crews.  What I want to point to is how you can do this – you can have hope and ingenuity triumph over negativity and pessimism.  Without being buried 1000 feet underground.

Many of us have long held dreams and desires, things that we have always wanted to do.  Sometimes, it looks like nothing will ever happen, nothing will ever change.  Sometimes there is hope and optimism – even in the face of zero evidence that things will work out!  Sometimes, the people around us are afraid for us, and well-meaning people offer advice that serves not to help us move forward, but to ‘keep us safe’, constricted, frustrated and trapped.

People will often say ‘well, that might not work out’.  Which is undeniably true.  But it might – and I’m guessing the miners who have been released today are very glad that the naysayers didn’t get their way and give up!  Your big dreams, ambitions and ideas deserve this from you.  They deserve for you to keep faith with them, believe in them, keep hoping, keep looking for solutions and bring them out alive if at all possible.

Of course, sometimes things do not work out, but at least you will be able to look yourself in the eye and say ‘I tried’.  As you know, I coach women (and men) with big dreams and ideas who want to change their lives, want more from life and want to let their light shine out fully in the world.  And I can tell you with certainty that I have never coached anyone (or indeed come across anyone) who has started to bring their dream to the surface who regrets it.

In my own life, I have noticed that my big dreams, ambitions and ideas don’t always work out the way I thought they would – but everytime I take a step towards my most cherished desires, something good happens – I learn, I grow, I feel more free, I expand, I escape the frustration and disappointment you feel when you hold your dreams and big ideas trapped under the surface.

Hope will keep you moving in the direction of the things you want – the joyful, fulfilling life, the ambitions, the dreams.  Hope will keep the flame of your desires alive.  Ingenuity will help you to realise those dreams.  Without inspired action, your dreams will remain dreams.  But if you allow those dreams to whisper in your ear, ingenious ideas will form, innovative thoughts will take you forward, your resourcefulness, genius and imagination will save your dreams from a life underground.

Something to play with

What dreams, ideas, desires, ambitions have you buried underneath the surface, deep within you?  Maybe you want to write a book, travel the world, make a million, start a business, have a relaxed and joyful lifestyle, become an artist.  Whatever it is, start listening to the whispers of your dreams and desires – they will help you bring them to life.  And if you need support with this, there is time for you to finish the year with a flourish with coaching sessions, see this page for coaching packages.

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – A Few of My Favourite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…a few of Maria’s favourite things. Do you remember this song from the Sound of Music? “I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don’t feel so bad” – is not just a lyric from a song, it’s great advice. Your favourite things put a little spark of joy in your heart. They make you feel better when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when you are feeling sad.

Over on facebook (and sometimes twitter if it’s in less than 140 characters), I often share one of my favourite things – a shopping trolley without a wobbly wheel, music turned up loud, an empty road to drive on, sunsets, sunshine, a novel to read, a movie, being snuggled up in bed while the wind howls, laughing, blowing bubbles, the sea, stars, my dog Mollie, being with friends, paprika pringles, orange matchmakers, drumstick lollies…the list goes on.

Why do I share these things? And why do I ask what your favourite things are? Because it FEELS GOOD! Remember the September Daily Practice: Feeling Good? It feels good to think about your favourite things. It feels good to talk about your favourite things. I have a book by Cecilia Ahern called ‘If You Could See Me Now’ (one of my favourite books!) which has an imaginary friend in it who often says ‘ooh, that’s my favourite’…about pretty much everything! Do you remember being that in touch with the things you loved to do?

Most kids have this connection – most kids (and dogs) have a hundred ‘favourite’ things. And most adults, sadly, lose the ability to recognise their favourite things and to take the time to enjoy them, wallow in them, get excited about them, talk about them, be enthusiastic about them. Have you lost your ‘favourite thing mojo’? Well, if you have it is time to get it back! It’s time to dust off your favourite things – identify them, do them, enjoy them and SHARE THEM! Leave me a comment and tell me some of your favourite things! Go on, it feels good!

Love

Donna.x

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How Do You Waste Hours Of Your Life?

Last week I did the ‘reading deprivation’ exercise from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The idea is that the time you spend reading can be filled with creative pursuits…or just give you the space to hear your inner voice over and above the chatter we put into our lives. Because I am a bit of a book worm, I had put this exercise off for about 2 months, then last week I decided to go for it. I had a busy week planned and thought I maybe wouldn’t miss having my nose stuck in a book as much.

WRONG! I have missed it very much. The exercise actually showed me how much I love to read, and how relaxing I find it. Instead of reading, I have found the time to clear some clutter, pick up a project I’d forgotten about from months ago, give myself a pedicure, watch a couple of movies and some crap late night tv, spent more time piddling about on the internet (NOT the purpose of the exercise), clear out the clutter in my inbox, re-arrange my office and spend more time with friends.

So from that perspective, the exercise has been good… But. The time I have missed reading the most is at night before I go to sleep. This is not (for me) a massively creative time that I could fill with fun, creative projects…it’s just ‘wind-down’ time. I tried writing, meditating, watching tv and messing about on the computer…but none of these are conducive to a good night’s kip. Writing wakes my brain up instead of relaxing it down for sleep, tv (assuming you can find a thing you want to watch) does the same, meditating…well, I do fall asleep – but I’d rather meditate earlier and stay awake for it, and as for messing about on the computer…

Well, that does waste hours of your life. But I don’t find it even slightly relaxing. Instead, I find there’s a kind of manic, obsessive quality to spending hours on the computer messing about. You go from one social media platform to the next, one video to the next, one site to the next, one game to the next. Before you know it, several hours have disappeared from your life and you are exhausted, your eyes dry and grainy, your brain overloaded with information and (in my case) you now really want to read for a bit just to calm the mind down so you can get a good night’s sleep.

So although I can’t say I have enjoyed the reading deprivation, it has been an interesting and useful exercise – for example, I now notice even more than before the time-stealing qualities of tv and internet…and I also realised even more strongly that these activities are NOT good for me. Instead of freeing up time for creative pursuits and hearing my inner voice, I have had less of both than I normally do because I’ve been watching the lobotomy box (TV) and wasting time on the internet more than I usually do.

Interesting huh? How about for you? What activities do you find you lose hours doing…and not in a good ‘oh that was fun’ way, but in a ‘what the hell was I doing for 9 hours’ way? Where does your time get spent? How much of it is spent on a virtual farm instead of outside in nature? How much vicariously in the lives of others and not in your own life? In an average week, how many hours are wasted by activities that don’t enhance your life?

If you spent those hours on something you loved doing, how much would that enhance your life? If you spent those hours having fun, how much more fun would you have in your life? If you spent those hours working on improving your life, moving into a life of purpose, passion and joy, how much progress could you make between now and Christmas?

And if you want some help, support and coaching to help you move into that life of purpose, passion and joy, don’t forget the September special offer – 20% off multiple coaching sessions booked in September. For more details, click here.

Love

Donna.x

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