With the spirit of Valentine's Day and Go Red for Women's heart health in mind, what a perfect time to talk about love. That is, getting to the business of loving you. I cherish the moments I get to spend with women like you learning about the trail blazing, courageous dreams you have to change the world. Sis, I am here for it! However, a common thread I see woven into this beautiful tapestry of thought is when we cross paths this time next year you report a barrage of excuses as to why your self-care and health is on the back burner. You still haven't walked away from toxic Mr. You're still planning to go back to school. You still haven't ______. This saddens me.
Several week ago while shopping, I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in years. She was at her job busily organizing things on a shelf. Before I could say "Hello," I noticed the look on her face. She appeared very distressed and in deep thought. When I greeted her, she said "Hello" with a grimace, looking as though she was slowing registering who I was. I smiled and jokingly told her that she looked like she was ready to fight. She laughed while confirming that she had several things weighing on her mind. We exchanged a few quick updates and parted ways shortly thereafter. Almost immediately, I began recalling many of dreams she shared with me over a decade ago. I realized she was still working the same job today that she hoped to transition out of many years ago.
The truth is, there will always be people, opportunities (seemingly the good ones), and life circumstances competing for your precious mental bandwidth, time, energy, and yes, those coins everyday. The question is, what are you going to do to make sure you stay the main character in your story.
Time is like money, it's neither good or evil but the improper use of it can negatively impact your life. If you had the supernatural ability to step outside of your body and audit your life what would it reveal?
I'd like to encourage you with 5 Ways you can Get Back to the Business of You!
Plan each day . Sit down with your day planner each night and map out the important tasks you'd like to accomplish the next day. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail ~Benjamin Franklin. Plan to do specific activities on certain days. It may not be feasible to talk to your best girl or family everyday. It's very easy to lose several hours each week just chit-chatting. Choose certain times to scroll or interact on social media. You'll be amazing at how much time is spent on this time stealer. Instead of watching television everyday, allocate certain days and times to catch up on your favorite Netflix series.
Clean and Organize your surroundings. How often do you find yourself looking for your keys, cell phone or important papers? You will be amazed at the time, money and instant wave of peace and serenity that comes as a result of your newly clean and organized living space.
Learn to say no. Do you really need to be on another committee? Many seemingly good opportunities and causes may knock on your door that you feel it's too good to say no to. Your good heart may cause you to spread yourself thin for others while depleting you of the time and energy you could be spending nurturing yourself and family or building your own business or non-profit. Gracefully decline giving your time for a season and learn to support in other ways such as giving a donation or opting to promote the cause on social media.
Establish accountability. Identify people in your life who truly care about you and ask them to be your accountability partner. I like the idea of having a personal Board of Directors. If you have an amazing girl squad, it's important to know who you will specifically choose for the given task. No girl squad, that's okay! There are so many online community groups to help you in your topic of interest
Tell Yourself Daily " I am not selfish for choosing me." Yes, people who are accustomed to having on demand access to you may give you a hard time initially but if you stay consistent, they will learn to respect your new boundaries. Understanding how much water you have to pour out to others will keep you from the toxic pattern of emptying yourself dry.
May God grant you the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know what you are truly called to be doing in the hour.
xoxo ~ Sherri B.