MindMatters

After I stopped working full time but before I embarked on my freelance writing (from home) career I felt something was missing. Even though it had been my choice to quit my job in order to cut child care costs and be more available to my kids, I struggled with the feeling that I had somehow let myself down. At first I couldn’t really pinpoint exactly what it was I felt was missing. One evening a good month later I was emptying the last of the boxes I had packed up from my previous job, I came across the template I used to help my clients develop their self-care plans. I had completed my own at least a full year earlier but now that I wasn’t working I thought to myself “I bet a lot has changed”. So I decided to re-assess what was missing by drawing up a new plan .

The new assessment helped me to focus on each aspect of my life in detail, which in turn helped me figure out why I was feeling so unfulfilled.

Any readers that have been taking advantage of the balanced living tasks I’ve been dishing out, this next part is for you:

You have now created and categorized a list of wellness activities that you currently engage in. Today I task you to take a closer look at that list and note what areas, if any, seem to be lacking more than others. This is where balance  comes in. Now choose a pen that is a different colour than the one you completed your last list with. With this new pen, write down in each category, any activities you feel you want or need to start doing in order to bring your life into balance. For now it doesn’t matter if it is realistic or not. If you feel you need to go back to school and get your degree in something, write it down. For this exercise it doesn’t matter if you can’t afford to actually do it – just note down that you want to. If you find yourself struggling with how this works, you can check out an abbreviated version of the plan I completed (that I mentioned and linked to in the first paragraph of this post) to get an idea as to what it might look like. Remember that everybody’s needs are different, there is no right or wrong way to do this!

Once you are done, look at your list. Are there any areas where one colour significantly dominates the other? Is there a category where you feel stuck – recognizing you are lacking but unable to think of what you need to do/add/change? Or is there an area where you seem to put most or all of your energies while neglecting all the rest?

I invite you to share your thoughts and insights.

LeeAnne

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