Do you ever feel like you don’t have the time you need to do what you really want? Or get to the things that need attention and care?
How about feel guilty or like a slacker when you are doing something that isn’t “productive” or profitable?
Did you ever wonder why it’s so challenging to prioritize the things that feed you the most? And why there never seems to be enough ‘time’ to get to what really matters?
What if this summer, you made a shift to do things differently? What if you took a stand to create the space for what matters to you?
I have been sensing into how many of us are feeling as we head into the summer months. What I’ve noticed in the voices and faces of most of the women I work with is this:
We are tired. On many levels – mind, body, heart and spirit.
We need more than a vacation or a couple of weekends away.
We need space.
Space to recover, reset, replenish and renew our tired minds, bodies, hearts and spirit.
I use the word space very intentionally instead of the word time, because while we often say things like “I need to find more time to…” or “I need to make more time to…” or “When I have free time I am going to…” time is not going to get you what you need. In fact, focusing on time is part of what keeps us stuck in burnout, overwhelm and never having enough time to recover and replenish.
Consider this:
If you are waiting to find the time, you will never find the time. Time is finite. You can’t make time – there is no time kitchen. And you can’t find more time – time is not lost.
What we need is not more time.
What we need is the ‘space’ to take care of the demands of our current lives AND feed the desires still coming into form AND nourish our hearts and souls and bodies with things that may not be ‘productive’ or ‘profitable’ but that sustain us in profound ways. But what does that really mean and how do you make that practical?
In the decade of research I did for my book Overwhelmed and Over It, which illuminates the roots of the burnout, self-sacrifice and unhealthy ways we work and live, I found this:
So many people just don’t know what they need. They are so busy just living and working, trying to keep up, that they can’t articulate what they need.
And if you don’t know what you need, you cannot make choices that make it possible to receive it.
If you don’t claim and create the space you need, no one will give it to you. And you will likely keep giving away your time and space to everyone and everything else, in ways that don’t actually nourish, support and replenish you.
Now let’s make this practical. Here’s where our ‘super power’ to create space comes in.
This summer I invite you to name and claim the space you need for the different realms of your life. And then make choices and changes that create a reality in which you receive the space you need. Even if it stretches you out of your comfort zone or other people don’t like it.
What follows below are four inquiries to help you get clear about the space you desire this summer. Ask yourself these questions, journal them out – considering the time span of this summer:
- What do I desire more space for in my relationships?
- What do I desire more space for with my body?
- What do I desire more space for in my work?
- What do I desire more space for just for myself?
Then take what you learn about what you desire, and dare to make choices that create that reality. Dare to be an advocate for yourself.
For more support and inspiration, including a guided visualization through these four inquiries, tune into the Feminine Power Time Podcast episode #159: POWER PAUSE: 4 inquiries to Create Space for What Matters to You This Next Half of the Year.
Christine Arylo, MBA, is the author of Overwhelmed and Over It. As a transformational leadership advisor, three-time bestselling author, and host of the popular Feminine Power Time podcast, she is recognized worldwide for her work helping women to make shift happen — in the lives they lead, the work they do, and the world they wish to create. Arylo offers trainings, retreats and workshops globally. Visit her online at http://www.christinearylo.com or tune into her podcast www.FemininePowerTime.com. Connect more with Christine and her community at www.femininewisdomcafe.com.
Image courtesy of Monica Turlui.
