It appears I was not alone in the UK in tapping into the holiday spirit – most of my clients have also found themselves taking their foot off the accelerator, cutting back and just hanging out. Many of them have noticed that when they do this, there is a curious reluctance to get moving again. It is a law of physics that an object at rest tends to stay at rest…and I have been that object at rest for weeks now! Luckily it is a law of physics that an object in motion tends to stay in motion, so once we’re moving again, all will be well. My clients (and me) have also noticed another effect of this period of downtime – those niggles, things that didn’t really bother you before suddenly become a real hassle and problems appear larger than they are. This is merely a cue to change.
– Your Cue for Change –
Many people think that life ‘should’ be easy. That we should cruise through life without a problem in the world…so when problems crop up, they are disappointed in themselves and think that they are doing it wrong. Over the past couple of weeks, there’s been a lot of downtime in the UK and many of my clients have found that this downtime brings introspection and the introspection brings to attention issues and problems. Because they (and I) have had more time than usual to ponder these issues, things that normally wouldn’t be a big deal are suddenly looming large in their attention.
This is a good thing. Problems, issues, roadblocks, obstacles all exist to HELP you. They come up so that they can be dealt with. The trouble is, most of the time, we deal with them half-heartedly or not at all. Take for example, an issue that crops up for many people fairly often – not having enough money left at the end of the month. Most of the time, we rob Peter to pay Paul, beg, borrow and scrape through the month. Then we forget all about it until the next time we have more month than money. Again, the short term fix, and again it’s forgotten. But what if you spent a moment and sat and thought about a long term solution? In this case, you could aim to earn more per month, aim to cut down your spending each month, create a savings account for this very purpose, have a ‘cushion’ of money in your account so you don’t need to go into your overdraft.
Sometimes a problem just seems too big to sort out once and for all, but it’s surprising how quickly most things can be sorted if you will just take the time. Taking this financial example alone, I spent years being in that position every month, but because I never took the time to sit and think about how I could solve the problem once and for all, the problem kept coming back, again and again. Eventually I realised life would be better if I sorted it out. Without earning any extra money (in fact, at the time, I was earning less money because it was just after I started my business I decided I couldn’t live like that anymore), I sorted the problem. Now it is very rare that I have more month than money, and every time I do, I take it as a reminder to take more action to stop it happening again.
The problem that came up for me in the last couple of weeks of downtime was that when the time came to get back to work, I really didn’t want to. This was a bit of a surprise because I love what I do, so this reluctance seemed odd. But actually, it wasn’t getting back to work that was the problem, it was getting back into a routine when I worked too much and played too little. Over the past couple of weekends, I have made sure to spend time with friends and family…because I had time. Now I’m back in the routine of work (or getting there), I need to do the same – make the time to take time off. It’s not the first time this issue has cropped up. And I know for a fact that when I get better at organising my work time so I can have more playtime, life (and business) will be better. So this ‘problem’ is here to help me see there is a better way.
Problems are not put in your path to piss you off. They are there so you can move past them, through them, under them. They are there to say to you ‘life can be better…and if you fix this issue once and for all, it will be’. So what issues and problems and obstacles come up for you time and again? Can you imagine if that problem was solved, once and for all? How much better would your life be if that issue no longer existed? By the way, don’t go giving your power away by saying ‘if THEY would change, this would be better’. It may well be true, but unless you intend to hold them at gunpoint to ‘make’ them do as you say, it’s out of your control. Focus on what YOU can do – and there is ALWAYS something you can do.
Take your problems, issues, niggles, upsets, roadblocks and challenges as your cues that something can be changed. Take some action to change things. Play the long game – especially with big problems that have been around for years. If it’s going to take a year to sort it, start now and take that year to sort it. And if you don’t know what to do to fix it, find out. Ask for help, search the internet, get a coach :-D. Welcome problems as the catalysts they are – once you sort them out, life will be as you’ve always known it should be – easy, effortless, fun…with the odd problem, challenge and obstacle thrown in to show you that it can always be even better!
– Something to Play With –
Pick one problem, issue, challenge, obstacle, roadblock that is in your way. Sit and think about what would need to happen to fix this problem once and for all. Be open to ideas you may not have thought of before. Now take some action. And keep taking action until that problem is fixed! Want to share your thoughts on this article? Leave a comment below or pop over to my facebook page and leave a comment there.
To your success!
Love
Donna.x