Uplifting Insights & Life-Balance Tools

June 2016

Happy almost-summer from beautiful, sunny Colorado! Welcome back to Sip of Soup, my free monthly eSip offering a taste of insight and lessons to help you keep caring while living a more balanced life.

Positively Yours,

Positivity Power

When I was a little girl, my three sisters and I took turns declaring, "You're not the boss of me!" So today I'm asking...who's the boss of you?

Lessons from LeAnn

This summer, as I do every summer, I vowed to take more time off...to play more. Then I looked at my desk (if only I could find my desk) and the mountains of work beckoning me. I couldn't see how I could accomplish all the things on my to-do list and still have more free time. Then I wondered out loud, "Who sets my schedule? Who created that to-do list? Who says how much I work? Who says how much I play? Who's the boss of me?"

The answer to all of the above is, of course, me.

I often say that we have a lot more power to choose in our lives than we exercise. I ask my audiences, "Who says how much you eat, how much you sleep, how much you play, how much you pray?" On these and many things, we have the power to choose.

Certainly, many of us did not choose certain situations or people in our lives. But we do have the ability and even responsibility to choose how we respond to them. You've heard me say time and time again that we have the power to truly live our priorities. Since more time off is a priority for me, I had to practice what I preach and choose to revamp my to-do list.

I resigned from a few committees (allowing others an opportunity to serve.) I deleted things from my to-do list that were not crucial. I set later and shorter office hours, allowing me time to have morning coffee with my hubby and to putter in my garden. I'm carving out several hours a week to play with my family. When I scheduled a hike in the mountains on a weekday, I felt a little guilty. What would my boss say? Then I remembered...I'm the boss of me!

Who is the boss of you? What part of your to-do list can you let go of? How can you change your schedule to give you time for your priorities this summer?

In This Issue

Positivity Power

Lessons from LeAnn

Sip du Jour

About LeAnn Thieman

Sip du Jour

A Healthy Quote:

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."

- Carl Sandburg

Learn more about living your priorities and balancing your life with SelfCare for HealthCare.

About LeAnn Thieman

Best-Selling Author, Hall of Fame Speaker, and Nurse.

Co-Author: Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul, and 11 other Chicken Soup for the Soul titles.

Her book Balancing Life in Your "War Zones" shares lessons from her Vietnam Orphan Airlift adventure. Her latest book and initiative is SelfCare for HealthCare™

: Your Guide to Physical, Mental & Spiritual Health.

To see past eSips on balancing life and living priorities: