“You should deeply care about what you think, what you want, what you need, and what makes you feel happy. Just as important, you should have plans and routines in place that allow you to do all these things and care for yourself in general.” ~ Brendon Burchard
I have often wondered what it would take to live life like a well-oiled machine—smooth, a daily flow, seldom rushed, enjoyed, not endured, full of beauty, love, and adventure. For me, I saw that it would take a life embedded with structures in the background that kept me going even when I didn’t feel like it.
In our lives, incomplete structures create chaos. We might wing it when it comes to our daily responsibilities. Dishes might not washed and dried. But then again, maybe we wouldn’t even have groceries to cook and would need to eat most of our meals out. Forget beds ever being made or home projects ever being completed. Eating healthy and working out would be something that would never enter your mind because there wouldn’t be time for such splurges. You might sleep in because you stayed up late watching TV; you had no schedule the next day, and you always felt like you couldn’t get everything on your “To do” list done.
Your surroundings would be filled with clutter, unpacked boxes, memories of unmet dreams, and stuff that no longer represented you. This stuff held you back from moving forward in your life without you even knowing it.
Structures provide an arrangement for the parts of our lives that we need to set us up for success on a daily basis. Being the creative, multi-faceted, spiritual woman that I am who wants to remain flexible without expectation or judgment, so I resist structure sometimes. (Okay, most of the time!) It’s not that I don’t desire structure. I do. I love to be organized and have systems in place, but I resist structuring my day because I want to be open in the moment to where or what God is leading me. I already have enough material to write a whole different book on being led by God in the moment, but for now, suffice it to say, every day is an adventure!
These days, to run a successful business and write powerful books that will help people know they are enough, I’ve merged my openness to God by creating a Spirit-led schedule which integrates my daily responsibilities. Yearly goals down to daily schedules are prayed over and tweaked as I’m led.
This partnership has set my life and business up for success while still allowing me to be open to God’s flow.
The three of the main areas that helped me to oil my machine called life were sleep, schedules, and surroundings.
Sleep
Our bodies are these beautiful masterpieces, an intricate tapestry, if you will, that need to be loved and treated with respect. Especially as we age. When we’re younger, we can get away with less sleep, even more junk food. But as we get older, we’re not quite as resilient. It’s important to connect to your body on a daily, maybe hourly, basis. Listen to what it’s trying to tell you. Don’t ignore the signs before it’s screaming at you that something more serious is wrong.
After several bouts of mononucleosis, adrenal exhaustion, and thyroid disease, I have learned the importance of sleep. I’m a slow learner! When my body doesn’t get the proper amount of sleep, you can bet that nothing else in my body or day is going to work properly either! And, for you, I suspect it’s the same. Having a great day on Tuesday starts Monday night, by getting to bed at an hour that sets you up for success.
The best thing we can do is to honor our bodies on a regular basis as we ride the waves of life.
Become aware of its need to REST and offer it what it is asking. You’ll be amazed at the outcome. Whether your body is calling for a good night’s sleep or a Rip Van Winkle kind of sleep, you’ll be amazed at the outcome. When your body is done oversleeping, you’ll naturally come back into balance.
Schedules
Aristotle wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do.” As mentioned earlier, I knew intuitively that schedules were important, but I resisted following one! I created schedules, but not follow them, and then berated myself for not following the schedule that I set!
Jana Kingsford said, “Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create.” To balance means, something is used to produce equilibrium. In our daily lives, there are more than two things we need to do daily to balance the scale. We juggle hundreds of activities each month that need to weigh evenly on our scale of daily activities. Instead of thinking that you need to balance your life, envision each activity you partake in as a spoke on a wheel, a piece of your life that needs oil to run smoothly.
In our case of daily responsibilities and living life with the goal of ease and flow, to balance our lives, in my opinion, means to blend all activities that we need to live a full life. Scheduling sleep, work, play, relationship connections, healthy meals, and workouts every day sets you up to skyrocket your self-worth and self-love. You’re no good to anyone if all you do is work constantly. Life is about living, loving, and relationships.
For you, it might mean only working four hours a day. Who says we all have to work forty hours a week? And, why can’t that work be done while you’re overlooking a beautiful beach or mountain top? Design your life and business around what YOU LOVE. This is self- love, which means taking care of yourself FIRST and then adding other important routines into your schedule. Most people make the mistake of creating their lives the other way around.
Think about what YOU need to fuel yourself for the day. For me it was quiet time, coffee, prayer, meditation, and a workout. Write down your non-negotiables in your calendar and commit this time to yourself. This is a beautiful act of self-love!
Surroundings
In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy says, “Everyone is affected by three kinds of influences: input (what you feed your mind), associations (the people with whom you spend time with), and environment (your surroundings).”
Because I’m super sensitive and empathetic, I tend to be a bit picky about my environment, the food I eat, the people I’m around, and what I listen to (or don’t). I like a calm mindset, things clean and in order, the TV off (generally).
I know what feeds my soul and I try every day to do as many of those things as possible that help me feel better. Last winter I moved south just to stay warm. I KNEW my environment needed to change, even if for a short time.
Recently I downsized, or rather right-sized, to a house almost half the size what I lived in for twenty-five years. I was in the process of finishing my bestselling book, More than Enough, and was surrounded by a hundred full boxes and many unfinished projects in the new house. Talk about feeling overwhelmed! Being the determined, resourceful woman that I am, I called for HELP! An angel arrived at my door by the name of Diane Halfman (DianeHalfman.com). She helped me unpack, scale down, clear out over forty years of clutter, and put solid structures in place to make this well-oiled machine run pristinely.
I’ve always been an organized person,(love my label maker!), but Diane took organizing to a level that amazed me! Being organized means having a formal structure, especially to coordinate or carry out widespread activities. This was exactly what I needed her for… to set up my physical space so it would support me to carry out the future activities of my business and life. It was emotional, exhausting, and exhilarating − all at the same time!
When you implement the proper Sleep, Schedules, and Surroundings for your life, you will be amazed at the results. What was chaos transformed to now be an organized, enjoyable, smooth flow. Your life will move like efficiently, and you’ll be eager to embrace the present and live out your bravest dream.
After you set yourself up for success in your sleep, schedules and surroundings, you’ll also feel more equipped to usher in the next chapter’s mission to know deep down that you are enough exactly as you are.
©2017. Lara Jaye. An excerpt from More Than Enough: Discover Your Limitless Potential and Live Your Bravest Dream. www.LaraJaye.com
