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 In 30 minutes,
you can declutter a few cabinets.
In 30 minutes, you can walk 1-1/2 to two
miles. You can lose yourself
in a novel, or play two board games with your
children in 30 minutes. In
30 minutes, you can make three to four phone calls.
You can watch a sitcom, or idly search
several websites in 30 minutes. In
less than 30 minutes, our nation was rocked and
a record was set by one man at Virginia Tech.
In less than 30 minutes, a doctor can deliver
life changing news. In a split
second, accidents happen that forever take our
loved ones from us. Sorry for
the shock factor, but I want you to understand
that time stands still for no one, and we all
have 24 hours in a day. Take
eight hours away for sleeping, and we are left
with 16 hours. So, are you
spending your time in this precious life exactly
the way you want to?
Know Yourself and Your
Priorities
I want you to take a look at
the "True to You" Life Wheel and ask yourself
what's most important to you in each of these
areas of your life. Go ahead.
Make a list of your priorities.
Maybe your list might look something like
this:
©
To continually
grow and change so I can live my best life
©
To make God the
center of my life
©
To enjoy my life
with people, places and activities that refuel
me
©
To love my husband
and children to the best of my ability
©
To take care
of myself emotionally and physically so I can
be available for others
©
To build a financially
strong present and future
©
To be passionate
and give my best to my chosen profession
©
To provide a
beautiful and nurturing home environment for my
family
Think about who you are and
what you want to be. Do not
be influenced by what society says you should
be. It's okay to consider what's
important to your loved ones, as long as you are
not giving up an important part of yourself.
Your life should be crafted so that it
is "true to you". In this way,
giving to others flows freely, and from the heart.
Examine Your Current
Life
Now that you know your priorities,
take a very close look at your current life.
Does everything you do support your priorities?
Get out a piece of paper and draw a line
down the middle. Label the
first column "Say Yes To" and label the second
column "Say No To". Think about
the way you are spending your time.
What activities are you choosing to engage
in that neglect your priorities? Perhaps
you are immersed in volunteer work that drains
you. Maybe you have a daily
90 minute commute that makes you angry.
List all of the things in your life that
you want to say no to.
Again, scan those priorities, and ask yourself
what you want to be doing with your time.
List all of the choices and activities
you currently say yes to (that
support your priorities). Add
in those items you are not currently doing, but
want to say yes to. Exercise
regularly. Establish a weekly
date night with my husband. Find
a new job that I am passionate about.
Organize my home.
Spend Your Time Wisely
Design your life and use your
time so that all your priorities are honored.
Eliminate everything that is not aligned
with what's important to you. Put
a plan in place to start adding the important
activities. Every time you
are faced with a decision to do something, stop,
and think about your priorities before you make
a choice. If the choice supports
your priorities, jump in with two feet!
Take your toe out of the "water of unimportant
activities and decisions".
Seek Balance, Not Perfection
I can hear it now, "I don't
have time to do all the things I want to do."
Yes you do. You have
16 hours in a day, 112 hours in a week, 480 hours
in a month, and 5,840 hours in a year to do whatever
you want. "But I have to work
so I actually have half of that time".
Hopefully your work supports your priorities
and you are passionate about what you are doing.
Everyone chooses how they are going to
spend their time. If you don't
like how you spend your time, then choose differently.
Get creative with your time and make a
way to do the things you want to do.
Find the right balance for your
life. Things don't have to
be perfect, just enjoyable.
That's when "attitude" comes in to take
over. When you are feeling
grumpy because you "have to" do something that
supports your priorities, remind yourself why
it's important to you. Part
of loving our family sometimes means we need to
do laundry, console a crazed child, or sweep up
crumbs from the floor for the 100th
time. Taking care of ourselves
may mean we say no to our family, and yes to a
30 minute workout. Seeking
financial stability may require us to temporarily
stop spending money. These
choices may not always be easy, but they're always
important if they support our priorities.
So make this your new motto - I
will make time to do the things that support
my priorities, and I will choose to love
every minute of my life.
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Do you struggle
with "mommy guilt"? My most popular presentation,
"Guilt-free Parenting" is now on DVD. In this
live presentation, recorded at Christ Church of
Oakbrook, moms will understand the difference between
"valid" and "invalid" guilt. You will be given
a simple 5-step process for releasing guilt.
We will explore five common guilt traps that moms
typically fall into and I will give you strategies
for overcoming these obstacles. Motherhood
does not have to spell g-u-i-l-t. 
