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Pssst...Confessions of a Hardened Do-A-Holic

As a single mom entrepreneur and homeowner, it seems there's never a shortage of things to do.  One of the things I'm extremely untalented at is taking time off.  I mean, really taking time off, as opposed to my usual 'time off' routine which includes cleaning the house, weeding the garden, running errands, and trying to figure out the meaning of life.  Seriously.  I've spent so much time thinking about how I want to best live my life that I sometimes think I'm forgetting to actually live it.  So yesterday, rather than trying-to-figure-everything-out-and-going-from-one-to-do-to-the-next, I decided it was high time I took the day off.  From everything. 

I didn't even shower.  I unplugged from my BlackBerry and my laptop, from my never-ending to-do list, and most importantly from my mind.  No trying to figure things out and no deciding which to-do's were next on the list for my biz or my life.  Just pure, unbridled, me time. 

I played hooky from life. 

I can't even remember the last time I did this.  I spent the entire day in my bed reading a fiction book, taking naps when I got sleepy, and only got out of bed to eat or use the bathroom.  My son, home on summer holidays, was game for a 'veg' day too, so I let him spend most of the day on his computer and hanging out with our cats.  Late in the afternoon, I made a phone call to a friend who I hadn't connected with in a couple of weeks - ok, and I did send one other personal email too, but it was one that made me smile - and then after our dinner of leftovers from yesterday, we rented a 2 ½-hr movie and vegged some more.   

It was time to just be.  And it was pure bliss. 

Giving my mind a chance to truly turn off, and not have to think about how to solve a problem or complete a chore or launch the next business project, was a real gift to myself.  It reminded me that unplugging from anything that requires any kind of brain power is a great way for me to refuel and recharge.  It doesn't take a genius to know that if you keep using a battery without ever recharging it, it'll eventually die.  Duh.  It's the same with the human spirit. 

If you're constantly on the go, or constantly thinking about what's next or what's required of you, you never allow yourself that chance to consider what you require.  What you need in order to replenish, renew, and reignite.   

I'm a real proponent of having balance in your life, and I'm acutely aware of how health in one area of your life affects your health in other areas: the whole premise of my Optimal Living TV series was about the interconnected nature of well-being.  Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Social and Environmental health are all intertwined, and paying attention to each area is important for our overall well-being.  Yet I'm the first to admit that staying mindful about practicing this kind of self-care on a daily basis is something I want to improve on.  I've gotten better about taking care of myself in all departments over the last few years especially, and I'm probably in better health than I've ever been in my life, but giving myself permission to fully 'shut 'er down' is the next regular practice I want to incorporate into my life.  Whether it's ten minutes every day, or even for a half-day or third-of-a-day on a weekend, taking true time off - I'll call it 'TTO' - works wonders for refilling the coffers of the human spirit.  It gives me the energy to really light things up, bigger and brighter, the rest of the time.   

While there's something delicious about having the freedom to take this time midweek like I did, you don't have to take your TTO on a weekday in order for it to count.  Taking time to tune everything out so that you can tune in to yourself is a gift on whatever day of the week you make it happen.  Whenever you take your TTO, is it a gift that you give yourself regularly? Do you allow yourself a full day?  A few hours?  Any kind of time on a regular basis?  Give it a try; if you're a hardened do-a-holic too, you might start with just a couple of hours.   When your mind starts trying to use that time to make a decision or sort something out that you normally don't have time for, quietly tell your mind 'not now; I'm on holidays'.  And then get back to just having fun, relaxing or kicking back.  This can mean different things on different days, depending what you need:  reading and naps and a movie were my outlet yesterday, but another day it might be meditation; another day yoga or tennis (my new sport, for the non-sporty gal that I am); another day it might be puttering in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes.  'Non-doing' means different things to different people.  Figure out what feels like non-doing for you, and build time in your life to 'not do' it…every day, every week, every month, every quarter, every year.   

And see how it lights you up. 

PS - for those of you who are outside the viewing area of the Optimal Living TV series, I'll soon share an announcement about another way you can access the series, and learn ways to achieve well-being in all the areas of your life.  Stay tuned!

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©2023 by Kelly Wagner

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