My, how quickly things change. I went from being less than motivated to a fast and furious flurry of activity in a matter of 24 hours! Not only was my inspiration sparked, but I was able to dig in and get busy on my list of things to be done and boy did it feel great…that is until time began to feel restrictive.
I know I am not alone in this. It seems over the years we have spent more time adding things to our schedule because we just want to do it all right now! I am very guilty of that being a “yes” person and all. I find myself quickly saying yes to new projects, responsibilities, events etc., only to find I am a bit stressed at the thought of doing it all. Especially if some of those things don’t necessarily line up with what I want for the moment.
It seems the more we pack our schedule full of “stuff”, the less time we have for doing the things we love. For exploring new ventures or taking time for our dreams. In fact, the second highest answer I got for why people aren’t living the life of their dreams is that they don’t have the time…or better yet they can’t find it.
Time is not meant to be found. You can’t go looking in nooks and crannies of the sofa for more time to do something. It’s not exactly how that works. I have heard the saying “carve out the time” as if you were carving a pumpkin. It sounds a bit labor intensive to me, but it is how we live these days.
Like lack of money, lack of time for some people is a major challenge when it comes to moving forward with their dreams. Some people feel that they have so many responsibilities that it might be selfish to take time away from those things to do something that they want to do. While I understand where those thoughts might come from, I respectfully disagree.
I think it is much more harmful for us to not do the things we love and the things that are important for us. I decided to follow my dreams for a variety of reasons, but one of them was so I could teach my son that he can and should do it too. Whatever he decides is his life’s calling and passion, he should find a way to do that. Does it mean I have to “find time” to do it?
Not exactly.
Here are a few tips in making time for your dreams. Some of these are things I implement and others I have taken from working with various clients.
- Sent an intention to do things you love to do, even if you don’t specifically plan for this time, the intention itself can open doors to more time
- Get a clear vision of what you would do with the given time. If you don’t know what you would do with it, chances are you aren’t going to be able to make time.
- Be okay saying “No” sometimes. I know this is a big one for me. Saying “No” to things that don’t resonate with you or that don’t add value to your life is not only ok to do, but it is a must if you are going to be moving forward with your dreams. Remember you can’t just dig up a bunch of free time.
- Say “Yes” to your dreams. This is a big one too. Know that your dreams are important to you. Feel the pull and the inspiration to do them. Allow that pull to grab you and take you where it may because it just might create the exact amount of time you need to do it.
- Hire a coach. Working through some of the other challenges that may hold you back can help you see where you can make the time to do the things you love.
- Take note of what you are doing with your time. Are you spending a ton of time on Facebook and other social media sites that can suck the life right out of you? Perhaps you want to try a bit of 15-Minute Magic to help limit your social media time.
- Ask yourself what you want to do often. I know there are many of us that don’t necessarily want to go to work everyday, but if that is true, take a small step forward to change that. Being mindful of what you really want to do as opposed to doing things because you have to do them can make all the difference in the world.
- Spend some time away to visualize, dream big, and immerse yourself in inspirational surroundings. This gives your mind a break and allows you to loosely focus on your goals. You can often allow that lovely, easy, inspired feeling to carry you back to your daily life and you might find that you are more able to let some things go.
- Hire help. In addition to hiring a coach, you might think about hiring a babysitter, a maid, or someone else to come in and assist you every now and again to provide you the uninterrupted time you need to follow through with your inspired action.
The biggest thing to remember here is to take responsibility for your dreams. Give them a chance to grow into something truly beautiful for you. I always say we dream for a reason and that reason is not to make us feel badly about our circumstances. Our dreams are the precursor to change in our lives. They cause us to make some much-needed changes, to think outside the box, and to enjoy this thing called life.
Don’t allow your dreams to lie dormant anymore. No more excuses about why you can’t do it, because you most certainly can and once you make that declaration, watch as the pieces, signs, contacts, money, time, and everything else you may need begin to fall into place.
What are you waiting for???
Jodie Ritchie says
Great Post, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
lserf13 says
Thanks! I appreciate the re-blog 🙂
Jodie Ritchie says
Reblogged this on Stretching Boundaries and commented:
I came across this great post and just had to share…
BulgingButtons says
Excellent advice. 🙂
BB
lserf13 says
Thank you BB and welcome!