I am a massive fan of journaling, not the 'dear diary' type of journalling from your teens but gratitude and abundance journaling. Writing down everything you're grateful for and getting really clear on your goals and affirmations and writing them down daily as if they've already happened. This is something I do daily and have found it to be incredibly powerful in helping me to shift my energy to one of gratitude and abundance and to bring forth all that I desire faster.
But today I found myself pressing the pen into the page, as if the amount of pressure I placed on the page would correlate with the level of success I would achieve. As if I could physically imprint my goals onto the page to make them a reality
It was like subconsciously I felt as if the harder I pushed, the greater the result would be.....
This got me to thinking...... I've lived nearly my ENTIRE LIFE like this. Believing that the harder I push the greater the result will be. The harder I work, the more I struggle, the better the reward.
How often do we hear this?
Don't wish for it, WORK for it.
Nothing worth having comes easily
If it doesn't challenge you it doesn't change you
We're conditioned to believe that we need to WORK HARD to get anywhere, that success should be a struggle and nothing worth achieving comes without a price. I certainly believed this. I spent years pushing harder, going faster, doing more, being busy equated to being successful, go hard or go home right?!
What happened was the exact opposite. I burnt out.
I remember feeling so overwhelmed that I actually fantasised about getting hit by a car. Not to be mortally injured or disfigured, just hurt enough that I'd need to go to hospital and have a weeks rest.
I wanted to dial back my life but I didn't know how.
The definition of efficiency is 'achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.'
In other words achieving the MOST with the LEAST amount of effort.
Deepak Chopra created the Seven Spiritual Laws and one of the laws is the Law of Least Effort. With relation to yoga, the idea is that when you come to the extent of your range of motion in a pose, instead of trying to push past it, you breathe into it and allow your body to ease through it.
What if we slowed down, took a breath and instead of focusing on struggling and striving and producing the MOST amount of effort, focused on how we could achieve the same result with the LEAST amount of effort and the MOST amount of ease?
How can we translate this into our everyday life?
Simply speaking, we find the way through that requires the least amount of effort.
Can you still maintain your fitness by going to the gym only 4 days and dedicate the 5th to a soul nourishing walk or some other act of self care? For more self care tips check out this article
Can you ask a friend or relative for help with your kids? If they have kids themselves often they are only too happy as they know the favour will be returned at some stage. Rely on The Village, they are your greatest support.
Can you still be on time for work without racing around the house stressing about being late? (this is one that I'm eternally guilty of)
Can you batch cook once a week and use leftovers for dinner a few nights?
Can you carpool to weekend sport? (another fun weekend sport hack is to let the kids sleep in their sports kit, as a teen I used to sleep in my leotard and tights to make it to 7:30am Ballet class every Saturday, wake up, shoes on, breakky in the car, good to go!)
Can you wake up just 5 minutes earlier to meditate?
The biggest, boldest way to create more ease and less effort in your life??
Practise saying 'NO'
So often saying 'yes' to others means saying 'no' to ourselves. Don't agree to something out of guilt when you know it will take time away from you personally.
So stop, take a breath and ask yourself;
Where could you create just a little more ease in YOUR life?
This article was written by Kate Hickey for Empower360 Fitness. If you'd like more information on our online or teen bootcamp programs, head to our website www.empower360fitness.com.au or contact Kate:
kate@empower360fitness.com.au