Do you often tell yourself you’ll “figure out” the important stuff as soon as you have time?
Every night as you go to bed, you think about how you want to change your career, or improve a relationship, or start a project.
You may even get feverishly excited with ideas—and then those ideas have to wait until tomorrow.
Or next week.
Or next year.
Or whenever you have time.
Or money.
Or energy.
Because after all, you have A Lot To Do.
You don’t have All The Money In The World.
You only have So Much Energy.
So naturally, the steps you need to take to get on purpose and on your path get shuffled to the bottom of the to-do list.
For example, many people, if asked to list what’s most important to them, would say it’s their family. Yet every week, they put off making that phone call until they “have time.”
Many thirtysomethings are dissatisfied in their careers…but their current jobs are so demanding and exhausting that they don’t “have energy” to put toward a career change.
But that voice in their head doesn’t go away. Eventually, it becomes a familiar “Guilt Gong” ringing inside of them—a constant reminder that they are not taking action in alignment with what’s most important to them.
Are you ready to break out of this tricky pattern?
Here’s the secret:
You will never “have time” to figure out the important stuff.
You will CHOOSE TO USE time to figure out the important stuff. [Or not.]
The same can be said of two other key resources: money and energy.
You CHOOSE TO USE money in service of what’s most important to you. [Or you don’t.]
You CHOOSE TO USE your energy in activities that align with your priorities. [Or you don’t.]
It’s true: right now, in this moment, you DO only have so much time, so much money, so much energy. So…
Where do you want to invest the time you DO have?
Where do you want to invest the money you DO have?
Where do you want to invest the energy you DO have?
And where’s the gap between what you SAY is most important to you and what you continually CHOOSE to invest those 3 precious resources in?
Hint: the gap is in the “I really want X, but I don’t have enough Y…right now.”
I just don’t have the time for dating right now.
I just don’t have the money to hire a coach right now.
I just don’t have the energy to call my brother right now.
The problem is, most people find that “right now” tends to last for a really long time…until they shift their mindset from being a victim of a resource they DON’T have enough of right now, to being the chooser of how to invest [or free up, or reallocate, or plan to carve out] the resources they DO have.
To get clearer on how this is showing up for you, try this:
1. Brainstorm 2 or 3 Really Important Things that most often call to you from the back burner.
[These are the things that would make you feel like you are really living your life on purpose.]
2. Ask yourself how you have been filling in these blanks:
Someday, when I have enough [resource: time/money/energy], I’m going to [Really Important Thing].
I’m going to [Really Important Thing] but right now I don’t have [resource: time/money/energy].
3. Next time you hear that thought in your head, slam on the brakes and reframe:
I am CHOOSING to use my [time/money/energy] on [whatever you’re doing] instead of on [Really Important Thing].
Then, you have two options: be at peace with that choice, or make a different choice.
This is NOT about beating yourself up. It IS about taking responsibility for what you are CHOOSING to prioritize. It’s time to compassionately, but firmly, stand up for your true self.
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Want to put this article into action right now?
Take out a piece of paper or open a new document on your computer right now, and write:
How am I CHOOSING to invest my time, energy, and money?
How satisfied am I with these choices?
How aligned are these choices with what I truly value most?
What new choice, if any, do I want to make right now?