Keeping baggage from the past will leave no room for happiness in the future - W. Misner
When something is bothering you it fills up your thoughts day and night. Even when you try to avoid thinking about it, it creeps into whatever you were doing to avoid it. Unless you do something about it the thing that bothers you will not go away.
The things that bother you, or the burdens that you carry, are not always overt. And many people who come to coaching with one challenge or another find they must deal with their burdens. It may take actions as simple as expressing that you are aware of a burden, to more complex activities and behaviours.
The starting point, though, is to understand where the things that bother you reside.
In this week's reflection I share two exercises to help you uncover those things. Subsequently, we will look at how you can unburden yourself.
The first of these exercises is premised on the notion that unfinished business lingers in your subconscious and acts as an energy drainer.
To uncover such energy leakages take a piece of paper and list down all unfinished business you currently have in your life. Don't think about how big or small, or how long it will take you to finish, or what the reasons are. Just list down all unfinished tasks, ideas or actions.
No two lists will be the same, and here's an example of one such list:
Hair not braided
Phone bill not paid
Gift for X not bought
Incomplete knitting
Unfinished mending
Incomplete presentation
Phone call to Y
Apologising to Z
Making a new standing order for school fees payment
Email to security firm to change address details
Paying off the mortgage
Fixing car
Replacing clock batteries
Making a special dessert
Renewing insurance
A second exercise derives from the fact that while some of the things we do drain us emotionally and physically, some do just the opposite. The question is - what's the balance of these two categories in your life? If the things that drain you prevail you will eventually grind to a halt, drained, demotivated, uninspired, bored. These are the words that people who feel stuck use to describe their lives.
To find out how you are doing, take a sheet of paper and draw a line vertically down the middle.
Title one column as positive (energy builders), and the other negative (energy drainers). Make your lists under each heading. Builders are all the things you do that make you feel good, energised, inspired, worthy, etc. The things that do the opposite go to the other column.
Now think about the past week or so, what percentage of your time did you devote to each column on each of the last 7 days?
What are you spending most of your time on - builders or drainers?
If you would like to share your findings after these exercises, write to me here.
