Tag: #burnout

Accomplish Your Goals Without Burnout

Erina HaileLeave a comment

“Schedule your priorities, do not prioritize your schedule.”
-Stephen Covey

Do you believe that you can be both a go-getter and stress-free?

I’ll confess that until recent years, and mainly based on my life experiences, I thought those two things were paradoxical.

That’s not uncommon, especially for those of us who’ve had to or are still navigating the waters of hustle culture. It’s easy to lose track of what’s really important; but that comes with grave consequences.

Sooner than later, and for the sake of our own happiness in life, we’ll have to learn how to prioritize.

Enter the concept of putting in your “big rocks” first, super simple in theory but most of us struggle with the implementation.

Before I tell you about the idea behind the “big rocks”, and in case you’ve forgotten amidst all the things vying for your attention, YOU always come first. Keep than in mind as you read on…

Right, now to the story of the “big rocks” which beautifully illustrates that you get to decide what is most important to you and what gets your time and attention.

It goes something like this….

There once was a teacher who showed his students a large empty jar. He filled it to the top with big rocks and asked “students, is this jar full?”.

“Yes!” said the students.

Next, the teacher added smaller pebbles into the jar and those pebbles filled in around the rocks. He asked, “and now…is the jar full?”. 

Again, a resounding “yes!” from the students.

He then added a bag of sand into the jar. The sand filled the rest of the space around the pebbles and rocks. He said, “now, is it full?”…and they said “yes!”. 

The teacher then dumped everything out and started again with an empty jar.

This time, however, he added the sand first. As he did, the sand took up all the space in the jar that neither the big rocks nor the pebbles could fit.

The teacher said…

“Students, the jar is your life. The big rocks are the important things that make your life worth living. You must know your big rocks and put them in first. The pebbles are the next group of things that matter to you — the things you have to fit in. The sand is the small things of life, the things that will take up all the space if you put them in first, leaving you with no room for the most important things in your life.”

So, what are the “big rocks” at this point in your life?

Remember, no matter whose opinion shaped what you might believe about yourself or your needs it’s only the things YOU truly want that are the biggest rocks of them all. Prioritize going after those. 

P.s., If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all that’s in your jar right now but want to consistently prioritize your “big rocks” then book a Complimentary Discovery Session to learn how I can help you.

Wait, Is This the Biggest Self-Inflicted Problem?

Erina HaileLeave a comment

Would you believe it if I told you that from where you stand today, you can take control of shaping your future on your terms?

More specifically, do you know that you can choose to overcome the exhaustion that might be gripping you due to the overfull plate of work, caring for family, being active in your community, worrying about the incessant stream of news that keep you on the edge, etc?

Well, you can. And, the solution is simple.

But, if it’s so simple then what gives…why aren’t more people energized by their life??

Generally speaking, we can attribute it to a bit of memory loss.

You see, most of us are so out of practice it almost never occurs to us that the power to be in the driver’s seat of running our own lives hinges on mastering how to do one thing — saying “no”.

Why most of us have difficulty saying “no”

For the most part, we’ve been socialized to be “nice” and “agreeable”. The consequence of this conditioning is we tend to ignore our needs in order to fit in, for validations, etc.

This eventually leads to us running on empty and other frustrations resulting from our boundaries being stomped all over.
 
When not put in check this then manifests into dis-ease…mentally, physically, emotionally and the downward spiral begins.

From this space of survival, growth, joy, optimism become impossible.

Therefore, the inability to say “no” is at the root of our most self-inflicted problems — exhaustion and burnout.

Having this awareness is very important as it allows us to be kind to ourselves as we relearn and get in the habit of saying “no” to the things we simply don’t want.

How to say “no” like a two year old

Starting right now, simply practice saying “no”, kind of like a two year old child. Everything for them is a no until convinced otherwise, except in this case you’d be convincing yourself why something isn’t a good use of your time or energy.

And, don’t just say no. Really challenge yourself by taking it a step further and use language that effectively conveys what you’re not willing to do without having to justify it with a million reasons.

For example, change “I can’t do xyz” to “I don’t do xyz”. The latter enables you to own your power and communicates a clear line that’s not to be crossed.

This all becomes simpler when we understand that our purpose in life is to self realize…not to people please. That’s the mantra to repeat when we’re worried about how someone might respond to us saying “no”.

Now, what to do with all the time you’re going to have left once you get into the habit of doing this?

  1. Get sufficient sleep
  2. Move your most important projects forward
  3. Enjoy “me” time or spend it with those who feed your soul and replenish so you can come back strong where it matters

Get in practice of doing this and watch how even the people around you rise up to meet your boundaries. Those are the type to keep in your corner and the energy that’ll propel you to your next level.

P.s., Live #liferich!