Generally speaking I am extremely inspired by what I do. In fact, most of us have extraordinary motivation and commitment when we are inspired. The tricky part I find (and I know that I’m not alone), is not “staying motivated”, but balancing the other aspects of life. Wouldn’t you agree?
Most weeks I am asked by both men and women, “How do you balance work and family life?”
For example paying wages, grocery shopping, vacuuming the cars or putting the washing away are not necessarily inspiring tasks (well for me anyway) but they do need to be done. With this in mind I have been contemplating the words of Dr John Demartini, a speaker whom I have had the privilege of hearing many times.
He discusses that there is great benefit in:
(and this is obviously only my interpretation of his very speedy presentations…)
1) Clarifying our highest values in life?
2) Further to this – What daily roles or activities have the greatest value and meaning in our life?
3) Then – Look at where we currently spend our time (examine how many hours we actually spend on different activities or the varied roles we play in our lives).
4) Put it all together by – Re-focusing our day so that we fill it with highest priority items first, i.e. focus on the most effective use of our time and minimise activities that have the lowest value or priority. For me, this means one of three things, either—
i. Outsourcing certain lower priority tasks, e.g. budgeting for a cleaner to come each week, freeing up some of my time. (Little boys are very good at spraying the floor and walls with urine…unintentionally of course!! Gross none the less and time consuming).
ii. Coming up with new creative ways to do lower priority items wherever I can (family speed sessions for putting washing away or tidying up, meal planning for the week etc).
iii. Relaxing about lower priority items that won’t always get completed. Realising that I could straighten the house five times a day or just twice. (The mess isn’t going anywhere but if I squint really hard and pretend to ignore the toys piling up, then I might actually get some work done).
DeMartini suggests clarifying our top 5 priorities, this can be a hard process… so take some time right now to consider the following:
- What are your top five priorities?
- How much time do you actually spend on those areas in a day, in a week?
Are some of your highest values — your spouse, family, great friendships, secure finances, health?
If so, then based simply on the amount of quality time you spend with these people or spend reading (or studying finances) or the amount of time you would spend exercising etc would it be obvious to an outside observer that your actions are congruent to your perceived values???????????
You see, life reflects what we value most………..
This is a great process and one that really helps to put things into perspective. Remembering that we are the creative force in our lives, these types of observations help us re-navigate if we feel we are careering towards an iceberg like the titanic!!!
It is important to know there are no right or wrong answers and our values will also change at different times in our life. If this is the first time you have contemplated your values, then it may seem harsh to place one value above another, realise however that we still juggle and shuffle other important aspects of our life. This process simply makes it easier to navigate our day when our highest values are in the drivers seat.
With all of this in mind, I decided recently that I would like to create myself a Weekly Checklist which I discuss in the next blog. As I have a Checklist for the boys, I thought it would perhaps be useful to have a chart that I tick off (just like the boys) when I fulfill tasks relating to my highest values.
“WHY?? ” …You may ask.
Well, I believe that I have been fairly good to date at living my life congruently. Particularly when making big decisions or when contemplating the impact work commitments will have on my family etc. This is part of the reason why I predominantly work from home. This year however, I want to really deepen my commitment to my values – hence the checklist. Which I will elaborate on in the next blog.
Have you ever considered or compared how you can have two days filled with an equal number of demanding tasks and yet you can have extremely different outcomes or levels of productivity? One day we may rush about full of frenetic energy and yet achieve very little, then on a subsequent day we consciously decide to focus on our highest values and ‘BLOW ME DOWN’, we have a completely synchronistic day. A day where we are not only proud of how we have spent our time, but we have also managed to tick off a number of action items as well!!
This is always such a beautiful surprise for me and a lesson in living my life being true to my values.
So here are my top five values… I offer them to you (somewhat bravely) as an example only, to help guide and or inspire you. Please remember, again, that we are all different and that your values belong to you alone, accept them( and yourself) without judgement, for if they are aligned with your heart they will help chart a rich and inspiring course through your life.
“My Top Five Values”
– finding more and more moments of joy (DELIGHT), peace and gratitude throughout my day
– my emotional, physical and mental health
– a deep connection and quality time with Simon and my boys
– creating and promoting products that inspire and empower families to strengthen their health and to see the evolution of a Well Adjusted race, who think and live harmoniously for the greater benefit of our planet.
– empowering finances
What are yours??…
