Do you ever feel like you don’t have enough time in your day?
That if you only had a few more hours, then you’d be able to do everything you want to do?
Let me tell you something - the only equal thing we have as human beings is TIME.
We all equally have 24 hours in a day. Period.
So why do some people accomplish everything, and others don’t?
Successful people focus on the right things and they are able to say no to the things that are not bringing them value or joy.
Everyone has a different definition of success.
For me, success is not a matter of fame or money.
In my ideal scenario, being successful means having a lifestyle that allows me to be in control of my life- not being tight to a single place and having a flexible schedule.
Success for me also means being able to spend quality time with the people I love and quality time with myself.
Finally, it means being able to enjoy the things in life that bring me happiness: travelling, coaching, learning and networking with like-minded people.
Of course, making money is important, but money is a tool to accomplish the final goal of living life on my terms.
What is success for you?
Have you ever thought about your definition of “ideal life”?
Without having a clear vision of how you want your life to be, you most probably won’t be able to understand if you are focusing on the right things.
Can you take 15 minutes of your time this week to visualise the life you want to live?
Some useful questions to ask yourself during this exercise:
· Where do you want to be in a year’s time?
· What type of job would make you feel passionate every day?
· How much money do you want to make?
· Who do you want to spend time with?
· How do you want to feel?
· Where do you want to live?
Write it down.
When you’re done, analyse your current life.
What can you let go of that is no longer serving you?
What is preventing you to live the life of your dreams?
I used to be a people pleaser with a high FOMO.
I thought that in order to live a happy life, I needed to get along with everyone, attend every possible event or travel with my friends and never miss a work opportunity.
As you can imagine, this lifestyle was time consuming and not really fulfilling.
She will explain the concept that I’m trying to convey much better.
In her book, Sarah explains how to get rid of unwanted obligations and guilt, and give your “f..ks” to people and things that bring you joy instead.
We only have a certain amount of time in a day; make sure to spend it the way YOU truly want.
I’m not suggesting to stop seeing your friends and family, but if you feel like you’re saying “yes” to everything just because you’re afraid of their reaction and you actually want to do something else, learn to say no!
People who really love you will actually understand, and they will be happy to spend more quality time with you no matter the frequency!
In the past few years, I have drastically reduced the amount of time I used to spend in coffee shops, bars or restaurants with friends. I prefer to attend self-development networking events or do a nice yoga or meditation class.
This is what lights me up and makes me feel truly fulfilled.
I prefer to spend a weekend walking in nature or reading a nice book in the sunshine, rather than running to the next dinner.
I’ve applied this rule to social media as well: social media is a wonderful tool if you use it to fill your feed with interesting people, not people who seem to have a perfect life all the time, or people who bring others down.
Ask yourself: is this profile on Instagram (or any other social media) bringing me a good emotion or a negative feeling?
If it’s negative, unfollow.
In the same way that I’ve done with my personal time, I’ve cleared out a lot of things that were not bringing me any value at work.
Rather than accepting every single project, can you actually learn to say no to some things that you don’t have time to do?
Trust me, people will respect you more when you learn to set boundaries and you deliver on the things that actually matter most.
If I had to fly to every single event where I can give a talk, I would never sleep in a place for more than 2 nights in a row.
Would this bring me any joy? Absolutely not.
Make sure to remember this next time you catch yourself doing something you’re truly not enjoying.
And breathe… there will always be days when you’ll feel overwhelmed, but if you learn to prioritise the things that bring you happiness life will always be easier.
