Do you ever look at your life and think, “what in the heck am I doing?” Your job isn’t fulfilling, your kids are barely around, you are coexisting with your spouse, you are busy all of the time, but you don’t know what you are really DOING…
Our society is addicted to being busy.
We use “busy” as a response to the question, “how are you?” What happened to, “I’m doing well, thank you,” or, how about, “I’m hanging in there,” as a response?
When did you start to live your life on autopilot?
When did you lose your enthusiasm and joy?
When did you start trying to fulfill yourself by eating, drinking, shopping, etc.?
RELATED POST: Living Beyond Burnout ~ Is Your Life One Long To-Do List?
THE BUSY LIFESTYLE IS AN ILLUSION
I used to live like that. And, let me tell you, it’s no way to live. I have 4 college degrees. I had a career as an instructor at a major university that I went into thinking it would be incredibly fulfilling. I had a family that on the outside looked like a shining symbol of achieving the American dream!
But, the reality was that I was living on autopilot in a constant state of being busy. I commuted 3 or 4 hours round-trip per day. I would fight Southern California traffic praying that I could get to the preschool by pick-up time so that I wouldn’t have to pay fines and so my kids wouldn’t be the last ones there.
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I liked parts of my job, but overall it was more stressful than fulfilling. There were times when I had 700 students, and all of their emails! I even had a parent try to get me fired because her son (who was 1 of 400 students in that particular class) was getting a “D.”
At the same time my husband was working long hours at the new dental practice we opened. So the housework also landed on me. Our marriage was young and we had yet to work out a balance of responsibilities in that area of our lives. While our love was still strong our affection was declining and my resentment was increasing.
My idea of self-care at that time was to get my hair cut every two month. My idea of self-nurture was to take the kids to their activities. Neither of these things really count as truly caring for or nurturing oneself.
I lived in a state of anxiety. I was anxious about the kids, about money, about my commute and mostly about getting everything done!!!
I also struggled with cycles of depression. I became so exhausted and overwhelmed my emotional body would shut down.
People thought I was Wonder Woman! I could do it all! THAT WAS AN ILLUSION!
I was withering inside. My physical, emotional and mental health were all in jeopardy.
A SLOW TRANSFORMATION
I knew that I couldn’t go on like that. Something had to change. I had to change.
I chose to stop and examine my life. I looked at my values and started to make changes to how I was spending my time. I started to cut things out that were not in alignment with my values. And I even made an effort to slowly bring things in that helped me feel better: I created a recipe of self-care, self-nurture and new ways of living that combine to create a life I love living!
It has been about 15 years since I started that slow transformation. What started out as a slow transformation soon turned rapid. During that time I actually made very drastic changes.
One of which was to take a one-year layoff from my university teaching job in order to train to become a different sort of teacher, one who teaches, guides and mentors other women how to make changes in their lives so that they can love living. That time allowed me to actually quit my university teaching job altogether.
THE RESULTS OF BREAKING OUT OF A BUSY LIFESTYLE
Now I spend time on things that are meaningful to me. I read books and listen to podcasts that lift my spirits. Each of my days includes taking self-care AND self-nurture breaks throughout the day. And while I still work many hours, I am “working” at something I love – lifting up others through Peaceful Living Wellness. So, it’s really not work at all.
I now know that my true purpose is not to teach others facts, but to teach them how to take care of themselves, to give them permission to live in a way that feels good to them, and to support and guide them in finding their own meaning and purpose.
Now, when people say things like, “you are Wonder Woman!” or, “you are so happy every time I see you,” I can reply with the truth, “Yes! I am!”
It is no longer an illusion!
What are the results of Breaking Busy?
- Spending time on self-care and self-nurture.
- Doing things that bring you meaning and joy.
- Knowing your purpose and living in alignment with it.
- Loving your life ~ even when it gets hard!
HOW CAN YOU BREAK OUT OF BUSY AND BREAK INTO JOY?
You can start slowly like I did. Add in a daily 5 minute meditation break and a 20 minute “meaning” time (do something that gives your life meaning or is meaningful to you).
Or you can take a slightly more proactive approach. Try my online mini-course BREAKING BUSY: 5 Simple Steps to Slow Down, Rise-Up and Feel More in Control of Your Life.
Or, if you are ready to take the necessary steps to make an impact on your life, to discover what your purpose is, to explore things that give you meaning and to live a life you LOVE you may consider individual coaching.
That said, I only work with a few individual clients each year. I am currently accepting applications for my 2021 clients. If you are ready to commit to transforming your life out of busy and into joy I invite you to APPLY HERE.
Wishing You a Life You Love Living!
Jen
JEN ROBINSON
Jen Robinson is the creative force behind the wellness brand Peaceful Living Wellness which is dedicated to providing a wide-variety of high-quality wellness information. Jen is also the creator of the Peaceful Living Wellness life coaching division, and offers workshops, individual and group coaching as well as retreats where she guides women in using Mindfulness and Mindset to build their inner strength on a foundation of inner peace. Jen also is the co-creator of the business coaching brand CEO Mindset that guides entrepreneurs in building their businesses without burning out.
The latest addition to her repertoire is that she recently signed-on as the Wellness Director for the business development company Wealthy Women Entrepreneurs . She is very excited to be leading this group of dynamic women entrepreneurs into success in their businesses and lives!
The most important part of Jen’s life are her two very active teenagers, AJ & Layna!
Jen’s Mindfulness and Mindset techniques inform her business, her parenting and her life!
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