Time of your life
I recently had the privilege of a 3-week holiday, something I had not done for a long time. I always thought that my preferred formula for holidays was little and often. Yet I was blown away by the difference that a 3-week holiday made. It was transformational and I felt like I entered a completely new way of life. There was a sense of awe in discovering a new country and a new culture, there was daily joy and laugher and more meaningful conversations and opportunities to explore what was really on my mind.
I know we don’t often have the luxury of that much time out but how can we create those moments in our daily lives? How do we create time and space to think, feel, breathe and open our eyes to the possibilities in front of us. I never feel like there are enough hours in the day and then I am starkly reminded of the fact that the average person spends 3 hours 15 minutes on their phone each day. Is there a way that we can be more meaningful with our time?
- Think about your overall goals for the day or the week. It is very easy to get bogged down in a huge to do list without stepping back and looking at your bigger goals. Do you want to reconnect with an old friend or spend more time outside or think about your next career step?
- Are you saying no to things that don’t serve you? I used to pride myself on responding quickly to invitations and my only check was whether I was free on that day. Now I think about my energy levels, what else I might have going on that week, whether I have swum enough and whether there are other priorities for the week that are more important to me at that moment.
- Are you creating enough time to sit and think and be at one with yourself? In a world where we have so much to do, it often feels like a luxury to sit and do nothing yet by doing just that, we can open up new thinking and possibilities.
- How can you embed habits to create that space in your week – my new intention is to try writing for 10 minutes post-swim when I am feeling energised.
I realised that a holiday was the perfect excuse to do nothing – I had permission to slow down and experience the awe and joy around me which was so invigorating. We need to be self-compassionate and give ourselves permission each week to do just this. Since coming back, I’ve realised that I have a good self-care routine, but I don’t create enough dream and thinking time. I wonder why I’m not being more creative and then realise I am trying to cram my creativity into a 5-minute slot in my diary! So the invitation today is to think about how you can build a habit to connect with yourself fully – to think, to dream, to wonder, to create.
My coaching supervisor Kay recently quoted Parker Palmer and I think this is beautifully apt
"The human soul doesn't want to be fixed, it simply wants to be seen and heard. The soul is like a wild animal - tough, resilient and shy. When we go crashing through the woods shouting for it to come out so we can help it, the soul will stay in hiding. But if we are willing to sit quietly and wait for a while, the soul may show itself".


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