In a life that demands 110% of your energy and attention--especially if you feel like your job is sucking the life out of you--you need an oasis to rejuvenate yourself on a daily basis, while you figure out what you want instead. That’s what Burnout Busters are--powerful, compact tools to reduce stress, calm your mind and body, and connect you to your wiser, more creative self.
Today’s Burnout Buster will not only change your day, it can change your life, one step at a time. It's called, “Just Enough.”
Say you’ve made a commitment to yourself to move your body every day. Maybe, ideally for you, that means a 45-minute walk, or a 30-minute run, or that hour and half yoga class.
But...your day doesn’t go as planned.
You’re on deadline at work. A family need you weren’t expecting comes up. The sun is going down so flippin’ early! Your plane/train/traffic/meeting made you late.
Today’s Burnout Buster will not only change your day, it can change your life, one step at a time. It's called, “Just Enough.”
Say you’ve made a commitment to yourself to move your body every day. Maybe, ideally for you, that means a 45-minute walk, or a 30-minute run, or that hour and half yoga class.
But...your day doesn’t go as planned.
You’re on deadline at work. A family need you weren’t expecting comes up. The sun is going down so flippin’ early! Your plane/train/traffic/meeting made you late.
And so, since you don’t have time to do your *ideal workout* you give up on it for the day. And maybe the day after that. And the day after that.
In the meantime...
The exact opposite of what you were hoping for.
Now time feels like an adversary. If we let it, “not enough” (time, money, patience, happiness) can become our marching beat. “Not enough. Not enough. Not enough. Dammit. Not Enough”
Meanwhile, the negative soundtrack takes up a lot of space in your head and only adds more stress.
It takes what you do have and runs it through life’s Incredible Shrinky Dink Maker, but not with happy results.
What if, instead of fighting against time, and deciding we don’t have enough, we were able to turn time into our ally?
Here’s a powerful little tool I learned from Dr. Kathy Cramer, founder of the Cramer Institute for leadership development and architect of Assets Based Thinking.
It's called "Just Enough."
Whenever I remember to use it, my mindset makes a powerful shift from “Aw, h*ll!” to “Oh, hey!” (Kind of like that mind shift from “If Only...” to “What If?”)
In the meantime...
- Your body doesn’t feel very good.
- You’re beating yourself up a little bit.
- You’re starting to resent the person or thing that kept you from it.
The exact opposite of what you were hoping for.
Now time feels like an adversary. If we let it, “not enough” (time, money, patience, happiness) can become our marching beat. “Not enough. Not enough. Not enough. Dammit. Not Enough”
Meanwhile, the negative soundtrack takes up a lot of space in your head and only adds more stress.
It takes what you do have and runs it through life’s Incredible Shrinky Dink Maker, but not with happy results.
What if, instead of fighting against time, and deciding we don’t have enough, we were able to turn time into our ally?
Here’s a powerful little tool I learned from Dr. Kathy Cramer, founder of the Cramer Institute for leadership development and architect of Assets Based Thinking.
It's called "Just Enough."
Whenever I remember to use it, my mindset makes a powerful shift from “Aw, h*ll!” to “Oh, hey!” (Kind of like that mind shift from “If Only...” to “What If?”)
Try This:
1. Acknowledge. “Okay, so right now I don’t have enough time/money/energy to do _______ like I wanted to.”
2. Return to what you desire. “But that doesn’t mean I have to give up on _________ entirely. I really want this for myself.”
3. Ask. What do I have just enough time to do?
For example, if you want to move your body everyday, it could look like this:
4. Act. Seize the moment and give yourself the gift of Just Enough.
Immediate result: You have moved your body and I’ll bet you a dark chocolate peanut butter cup that your body and mind feel much better.
Deeper result: In that moment, you have said, “Yes” to what your heart desires.
Your inner self now knows you are committed to what your heart desires. You are building self-trust. And that strengthens your trust muscles to do it again. And again.
This is a simple example for enhancing your health and reducing your stress on a daily basis. And day-by-day that builds toward a happier, healthier life.
But I propose that it also applies to inviting more of what you love in your life, especially if right now you’re still spending a lot of time and energy in a job or commitment that’s sucking the life out of you. (We can change that. I’d love to help you.)
Today, what do you have “Just Enough” time/money/energy/ideas to do that will move you one step closer toward work that you love and a life that energizes you?
Take that one, small, warm step. You’re telling your heart “Yes.” You’re building self-trust for bigger leaps.
Declare it in the comments on the blog and then let us know how it goes!
Xoxo,
2. Return to what you desire. “But that doesn’t mean I have to give up on _________ entirely. I really want this for myself.”
3. Ask. What do I have just enough time to do?
For example, if you want to move your body everyday, it could look like this:
- I have just enough time to walk down the bike path and back for 20 minutes.
- I have just enough time to do a quick round of yoga sun salutations.
- I have just enough time to climb a few flights of stairs in the hotel.
- I have just enough time to put on some music and dance to one song (here’s my go-to happy song--Sound of Sunshine by Michael Franti).
4. Act. Seize the moment and give yourself the gift of Just Enough.
Immediate result: You have moved your body and I’ll bet you a dark chocolate peanut butter cup that your body and mind feel much better.
Deeper result: In that moment, you have said, “Yes” to what your heart desires.
Your inner self now knows you are committed to what your heart desires. You are building self-trust. And that strengthens your trust muscles to do it again. And again.
This is a simple example for enhancing your health and reducing your stress on a daily basis. And day-by-day that builds toward a happier, healthier life.
But I propose that it also applies to inviting more of what you love in your life, especially if right now you’re still spending a lot of time and energy in a job or commitment that’s sucking the life out of you. (We can change that. I’d love to help you.)
Today, what do you have “Just Enough” time/money/energy/ideas to do that will move you one step closer toward work that you love and a life that energizes you?
Take that one, small, warm step. You’re telling your heart “Yes.” You’re building self-trust for bigger leaps.
Declare it in the comments on the blog and then let us know how it goes!
Xoxo,
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