Running on Empty

A client of mine stated his frustration with his life as he detailed his day to day routine. It pretty much consists of him working 13-15 hour days, eating lunch (if any) on the run, and then coming home to an empty house in which he eats frozen dinners and works even more on his home computer. He complains that he is bored, burned out and depressed. He owns a business and feels compelled to work countless hours in order to keep it alive and running.

This client is clearly lacking life balance, which is something all of us lack at some point in our lives. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day responsibilities while forgetting all of the other things that are needed in living a fulfilled and purposeful life.

The first step in achieving a sense of balance is to focus on one’s perception and idea of productivity. Some variations to this is the “Soccer Mom Syndrome” in which the mom feels compelled to work, take care of the kids and the house, and volunteer at numerous places in order to feel productive. The other variation is the “Workaholic” who feels s/he must work at least 10 hours a day in order to be productive. The bottom line is this: You won’t be good for your kids or your business if you aren’t good to yourself. It is no one’s responsibility but your own to take care of you.

Taking care of you is much like taking care of your car. Regular maintenance is part of the program and you must make the time to recharge your battery through rest, relaxation and social time while filling it up with healthy food and exercise to keep it running properly. If you don’t make time to do this, you will stall out. Continued lack of maintenance will most likely result in more serious problems that can lead to premature illness and death.

In order for this client to change, he must first acknowledge and change his illogical perceptions regarding work productivity. Once this is achieved, he will be able to change his behavior to a more fulfilled way of living.

Get out there and live!

Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS
Executive & Personal Coach
www.LeadMeToSucceed.com

Perfect Moments

Is there anything really perfect in this world? Probably not. If we really analyzed the perfect scenario, I'm sure we could find faults to it. It's not that I'm pessimistic; it's just a matter of looking at things realistically.

Yet, I do think there are times that resemble "perfect moments" in life. All of us have them but I'm not sure all of us know we have them. Often times, we are running too fast to notice such things.

To me, a "perfect moment" is a short period of time (it could be a few minutes to an entire day) in which we experience everything coming together to create a perfect moment in time that feels so good, so flawless, that you don't want it to end. These special periods in time are usually minor in scale and nothing outwardly fantastic. I think that is why they are so special, because they aren't planned and they aren't expected. They just occur naturally.

I recall one "perfect moment" in particular when I was on a trip with my husband and daughter. Nothing on that trip was significant or really stands out except for the 30 minutes we sat inside an ice cream parlor. We had a long day of walking around and checking out the town we were visiting. We stumbled upon this really cool 2 story ice cream parlor in Miami and sat down to have ice cream sundaes. Perhaps it was because we were tired that we were all feeling silly and laughing at things that were normally not that funny. Either way, the three of us took turns acting goofy to see who we could get to laugh hardest to the point that we were being slightly obnoxious. Anyway, watching my goofy family making me laugh while eating my ice cream made me stop and realize I was definitely experiencing a “perfect moment”.

Did I mention that in order to experience these wonderful moments in time, you must realize you are in one? When you are feeling happy and grateful for those people and things around you, you are headed for that space in time that you want to keep forever. Knowing we can’t bottle it up and experience it again makes it that much more worthwhile.

Watch for those “perfect moments” in your life so they don’t escape you because they will never repeat themselves.

Renee Kennedy-Edwards, MS
Personal/Executive Coach
Coaching 4 Success, Inc.
www.LeadMeToSucceed.com