I have recently referred to the massive rate of change that we are currently experiencing, and that it is quite unprecedented. One of the upshots of this, is that people are 'doing busy' like never before.
In the Evolved Leadership curriculum (click here to like our new Facebook page), we refer to boundaries in people's lives, and specifically boundaries first, life second. Think of a small tree placed in a paddock of cows. The tree would not survive, but if you pop a fence around it, and nurture it, then it would. It's the same with your life, if you don't put some kind of boundaries in place, you simply won't survive, and there will literally be no fuel in your tank to function.
There are two kinds of boundaries that we refer to (1) the boundaries that we set up in our daily lives, and (2) the boundaries that we place when connecting with others.
This week I will focus on the first type,and next week my newsletter will be about the second type.
How do you rate in the following areas?
One of my gorgeous friends and I were having a conversation yesterday, where she mentioned that she is basically working all hours presently. That means all weekend, and in the evenings until 1 or 2 in the morning. Her reasoning is that she needs to 'make hay while the sun is shining', in that she has work on now, and is aware that December is not too far away, with it's inevitable downturn. Whilst I know that there is validity to being prepared for New Zealand and Australia going on shutdown, I think there is a smart way to keep yourself going, and it's all about boundaries. She manages to go swimming in the weekends, which is a great start.
Answer the following questions to see how you fare with your boundaries.
1. Do you take time every week to have a two hour meeting with yourself, just doing something YOU love to do?
2. Do you have a day a weekend where work of any type is off limits?
3. Do you keep some kind of gratitude journal?
4. Do you think what you eat daily fuels you adequately?
5. Do you incorporate some kind of exercise into your routine (even a 20 minute walk most days?)
6. Do you limit your alcohol intake?
7. Do you get enough sleep (everyone varies around what that means for them, but generally six to eight hours is the norm)
8. Do you meditate and/or simply take time out to be each day?
9. Do you have boundaries around when you work (eg I won't look at my laptop before 7am or after 7pm each day?)
10. Do you know what you ultimately want your life to look like, eg dream board, intentions identified (I prefer this word to 'goal'), and practise visualisation/manifestation regularly.
If you answered 'no' to 5 or more of these questions, then it might be time to review your routine, and start to incorporate more boundaries. This is not coming from 'make wrong', more from ensuring you are living sustainably for you. There are of course times (say two or three weeks) when your boundaries might be temporarily out, eg when there is a massive deadline coming up, and you literally have no choice, but if it becomes the norm rather than the exception, then it might be worth looking at how you can shift that. Sometimes it's as simple as realising that spending 20 minutes on a meditation is way more beneficial than the extra 20 minutes you will dedicate to that project.
Last chance to register for my webinar (tonight) and go into the draw to come to Oprah with me!
Click here to register; it's all about getting clarity on what you love and are good at, and understanding how to commercialise that as an employee, expert, entrepreneur or enabler. One attendee tonight will win a free spot on my August workshop (about the same topic) next Thursday (tickets still available, click here for more details) and one person at my workshop will win a night with me where we go along to Oprah on December 16th.
