Challenge Day 11 – Gimme Space
I used to pride myself on how full my schedule was; the old me thought to be successful I had to always be busy. If someone caught me relaxing, I would feel a need to explain myself. Can you relate? Being useful is important, but if we are always working, we will eventually tap out and become useless. Empty space, in our schedules, in our minds, is critical to the quality of our work and to the quality of our lives.
Making an effort to “not do” is difficult! It requires that we allow our minds to wander, to think about things that are usually buried under the task at hand. Now more than ever, smartphones make quiet time more rare. For some of us, “not doing” it can even bring up emotions like anxiety and guilt. When you think about it though, empty space gives balance to all the tasks on our schedules. Unscheduled time is like a pit stop. Depending on how we need to refuel, we can choose to nap, walk, cuddle with our dog, breathe, walk in a garden, read, cook, or just sit and watch the world go by. Rest actually gives us back the fuel to execute the tasks we care about with our full and undivided attention.
Work and rest are not opposites, they are symbiotic elements of a balanced life. These last few days of the challenge are a great time to take a look at how we spend our most important asset, time. There is a finite amount of it that we get, and none of us know exactly how much. Spending it wisely might mean letting some of the less important tasks go to make some space to simply enjoy life.
Cheers to Day 11,
Coach Michelle
Coach Michelle