Making Room for Your Life

By Janet Christensen

It is that time of year when most people are busy with the holiday season – gift buying and wrapping, sending greeting cards, social and family activities – and all of this on top of the usual demands of daily life. In spite of the fact that the holiday season arrives at the same time each year, it seems to catch some of us off guard. The holidays become a time of stress, rather than enjoyment. Then, once the round of holiday activities is over, we prepare for a new year. For many people, this means making New Year's resolutions, setting goals, and vowing that “this year it will be different.”

It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If you don't plan to do things differently, no amount of goal setting will help you achieve what you haven't been achieving up to now. Something has to change.

For many people, making resolutions and setting goals means adding things to already busy lives. If a cup is already full to the brim, there is no room to add more water. If you want to freshen up the water, some needs to be emptied out first. So it is with your life.

Consider emptying out some of the stale things from your life before you make your plans and goals for next year. This involves doing some self-reflection and making choices, some of which may be difficult. You don't need to have it all; you only need what fits with who you are and who you want to become. The rest is superfluous and holds you back. To paraphrase Cheryl Richarson, when you get rid of things that are holding you back and getting in your way, your path becomes much clearer, straighter, and easier.

How do you do decide what belongs and what to let go of? Here are some questions you can ask yourself to see what you need to purge from your busy-ness to make room for what you really want to create in your life:

• Are there activities in my life that I do because I think I “should” do them, rather than because I enjoy them? (Anytime you hear yourself using the word “should” this is a red flag. Often, a “should” is something that is an energy drain, or an obligation rather than a willing choice.)
  
  
• Is there something I am involved in that has become a burden or lost its appeal for me?
  
  
• Are there people or activities in my life that sap my energy drains or are negative influences?
  
  
• Am I spending time doing things that are not creating the life I want to have?
  
  
• Review your planner. Are you spending time doing things that are not in alignment with your goals and values?
  
  
• Do you feel like you're in a rut? (If you're in a rut, stop digging!)
  
  
• With whom do your spend your free time?
  
  
• Is there something that if you didn't have to do, would give you a feeling of huge relief?
  
  
• Do you feel fulfilled? Is something missing?
  

You may have other questions to ask that are relevant for you. What is important is to take the time to reflect on where you are and where you want to be. If where you are and where you want to be are one and the same, congratulations! If they are not the same, how do you plan to get to where you want to be? What is holding you back that you can leave behind? What can you let go of to make room for your life?

Then give yourself permission to let go! Let go of the chaos. Let go of the energy drains in your life. Let go of trying to be everything to everybody...and make room to create the life you want to live that's in alignment with your goals and values. Give yourself permission to be who you long to be.

Janet Christensen’s passion is to empower people to live their full potential. Through her company, Unlimiting Potential, she provides personal coaching, experiential workshops, inspirational speaking, and is a Reiki practitioner. To contact Janet, phone: (519) 434-5397 fax: (519) 434-8344 or email info@janetchristensen.com www.janetchristensen.com

Published in Networking Today, December 2003.