I deemed 2012 my “year of awareness.” Each month, my lead blog is about the topic of awareness and my exploration of it. This is the fourth installation in the series “awareness.”
I spent my last session with my coach, Nancy, discussing the irony of summer. Summer is a time that’s frequently thought of as “lazy, relaxed, slowed-down, and chill.” However, what I think is true for most of us is that we spend our summer packing every minute to the fullest, taking on new do-it-yourself projects around the house, traveling distances to spend long week-ends with old friends, and attending any number of graduations, weddings, and/or family reunions. It’s all “go, go, go…and do, do, do!” And, of course, amidst all of it, there’s a career to build.
Alas, as I review my calendar for June, July, and August, my summer looks anything but lazy, relaxed, slowed-down, and chill. In expressing this sentiment to my coach, Nancy, she asked me:
How do you WANT your summer to be?
And this, my friends, is the beauty of coaching: I’m being challenged to really think about living my life INTENTIONALLY, to not merely let the summer go by and then wish, after the fact, that things had been different. I’m being asked to really DEFINE how I want the immediate months ahead to BE, how I WANT them to UNFOLD, and how I VISUALIZE them in a way that is, well, PERFECT–for me. It’s rare that we STOP and take the time to really reflect in this way so that we can create the future we WANT, rather than the future that “just happens.” So, I answered Nancy’s question in this way:
I want my summer to be like swinging on a swing.
My Biggest Swinging on a Swing Inspiration:
Vin (self-proclaimed nickname and short for Vivian), age 6
There’s a breeze in my hair, I feel the sunshine on my cheeks, and I laugh with abandon. I wear flip-flops and flowy skirts, spend my late afternoons planting flowers, my evenings gazing at stars, and I never stop jonesing for a s’more, even though they are gooey-gross and make my fingers sticky.
I recognize and accept that there are “up” moments and there are “down” moments. I recognize and accept that there are times when I have to work hard to pump my legs so I can get going faster. And I recognize and accept that that’s okay because it’s balanced by moments when my stomach does flip-flops of delight as I soar higher and higher.
There are times when I honor my needs by asking for a push. There are times when I say “that’s good–that’s enough,” because that’s the truth. And there are moments of quiet peace as I stop efforting and enjoy the pure momentum of the back and forth motion I’ve created.
There is frovolity, lightness of being, and a sense of complete “presentness.” There is innocence, play, and lack of judgement.
There is childlike fascination, profound appreciation, and a deep “knowing” that, no matter what else is going on in the world, I am enjoying THIS MOMENT for all it’s worth.
I am just swinging–intentionally.
So how the heck do I do this?
Here are 3 Things I Do to Swing Intentionally:
1. Schedule “DOWN TIME” into my calendar.
It seems odd, but the best way to make certain that I honor “down time” is by scheduling it into my calendar. Down time is like anything else: if it’s not in your calendar, it doesn’t exist!
2. Give myself permission to take time off.
You know the old adage: most people don’t go to their grave wishing they’d worked more. It’s okay to take leisure time for yourself. In fact, it actually ENHANCES your work, not detracts from it. I will be taking a total of about 16 days “off” this summer, and I’m looking forward to every minute!
3. Mindset Check: Just BE.
Recognizing our need, as humans, for time to “just be” is so challenging in a society where we’re so focused on “do, do, do.” However, I’m a big believer that when you’re being who you need to be, you’ll get done what you need to do. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, shoot me an email…and I’ll send you some info about how you can get involved in doing some coaching with me! 😉
Leave a Reply