Change for Life: Make Your “GET To Do List”
“There is more to life than increasing it’s speed”- Ghandi
Somewhere along the line, for most of us, life became an endless To-Do List of tasks and errands. We fell into a vicious “cram-it-in and cross-it-off” cycle. Life began to look really dull as one day just faded into the next. Even purely pleasurable activities, like eating, holidays and sex wound up as just another chore. We are over- scheduled, exhausted zombies.
We began a battle with time that we can never win. No time management program can solve this because the answer is not in planning everything “better” so we can do “more” of it. Even fleeting feelings of accomplishment are quickly over shadowed by brand new whirlwind of demands. We cope by making ourselves believe that life will get better when something OUTSIDE of us shifts…the kids are older, you’re retired, or have more money or time.
The truth is that things WILL get better as soon as something INSIDE of us shifts. When we begin to look at time with a new perspective and engage fully in it and not against it, a whole new world of possibility opens to us. We start to realize that what packs our calendars is not who we are. The beauty of this shift is that we each have the power to make it for ourselves, right inside of us and can begin today. Gradually becoming a little more alive each month, and then in time developing a lasting change for life.
The first step is so simple yet so profound. Take out a pen and instead of making one more “HAVE To DO List”, you are going to make a “GET To Do List”. Consider one thing that genuinely brings you joy and should make you happy, but has become just another chore with negative energy attached to it. Perhaps it is preparing a nice meal, going for a run, or finishing a hobby project.
Write that one item on your “GET To Do List”. Think about it, and start to shift your mental attitude by attaching good positive thoughts to it again. Remind yourself why this makes you happy, and how it is good for you. This is one thing you GET to do, and you are grateful for the opportunity to do it.
Now do it, engage in it fully, tune into the vitality of that moment, and be grateful. As soon as you feel really good energy about it again, you can choose a second item to add to the list and start the shift again.
Gradually, the color starts to come back into life as you develop this new level of awareness. I will soon be discussing how a “Manicure Moment” is another shift that both nurtures your physical beauty (and therefore, self confidence) and provides some quality time for self-discovery. Part of it is designed to be about the art of applying and wearing the latest must-have nail polish color. The other part is about how to find the time to take care of yourself, and use this time to consciously engage with your soul. These small moments together add up to a real and lasting way to change your life.
