How do you want your life to be?
DR LIBBY WEAVER
When was the last time you stopped to consider what you want from life? I mean really stopped. Time only seems to be speeding up, the years flying by in the blink of an eye. We can easily allow ourselves to get swept up in the flow, continuing along in the direction we seem to be heading, without really stopping to check if it’s a direction we really want to be headed in. We might feel that we don’t have a choice, that our adult responsibilities and commitments are tying us into limited options, or so busy that we barely have time to breathe let alone allow ourselves to have a life directional powwow – and that might partly be true.
Most of us can’t drop everything and travel the world to satisfy our burning wanderlust, move our family to another city on a whim or quit working completely – but we have a tendency to forget that we don’t have to make drastic changes to be rewarded with more passion, contentedness, and fulfilment in our lives.
In this three-part piece, I’m going to look at what you need to do to get clear on what you want in 2017 – and beyond.
Start with where you are now
Take a moment to contemplate your life as it is for you now. Do you feel fulfilled by your job, your relationship? Are you jumping out of bed in the mornings full of energy and vigour to start each day? Do you have passions and hobbies outside of your career and your family that are just yours?
Be completely honest with yourself about how you feel mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. What brings you joy and what feels as though it needs to shift? Maybe you’re completely inspired by your work and love your family with your whole heart but feel as though they get every single part of you and you’ve lost your sense of self. Or perhaps from childhood you always dreamed of following a particular career path and somehow you ended up doing something else entirely, and this other thing depletes you because it consumes so much of your life.
Look for those areas of your life that feel heavy, draining, or empty. Remember all those things you always said you were going to do but have never quite got around to doing. Maybe learning a language, taking dance classes, or joining a choir.
Write it all down so you can see it. If you’re someone who feels overwhelmed with an already full schedule you’re probably reading that and thinking you couldn’t possibly find the space to do any of it. But remember, we create space for the things that are a priority for us – no matter how busy you get, you’ll always find the time to get to the hairdresser or watch your favourite show. So, in effect, what you’re really saying is that you don’t have time to take better care of yourself or that living a life that brings you joy and fulfilment isn’t a priority for you.
How does it feel when you say it like that?
It all begins with energy
The reality is, we will achieve very little if we feel exhausted all of the time and so many people move through their day with compromised energy. If we’re tired and just doing what we need to get by, any inspiration to make change is going to be fleeting. Energy is our true currency of our health – if we don’t have any, we can be sure that something in our body is not working optimally.
So how can we get more energy?
More on that next week.
Dr Libby is a nutritional biochemist, best-selling author and speaker. The advice contained in this column is not intended to be a substitute for direct, personalised advice from a health professional. Visit drlibby.com. Support your health in 2017 by trying Bio Blends by Dr Libby, her new range of food-based nutritional supplements at bioblends.co.nz.