In my last blog, I shared how your schedule is often a reflection of the old you and not the person you are becoming.

You can check out the blog here.

As a quick recap, a few ways to create more freedom to do what you love is to discipline your calendar by sticking to designated work hours and chunking your time.

Today, I wanted to take this a step further and share the importance of making yourself as important in your schedule.

This is huge because often, we are great at carving out time for others (including business) but not necessarily for ourselves.

This could include things like sleep, fun, brain break and rejuvenation, to name a few.

If you have a big inspiring goal and are driven to live a life you love, odds are you are doing many things, taking massive action, and can often feel like your energy is being pulled in many different directions.

These activities can feel very Yang (action and doing) and take a lot of energy.

This is why it is also essential to schedule time for yourself and nurture yourself (yin- listening and going within).

This could look like allowing yourself to slow down, relax, quiet your mind, be in nature, go within etc.

Take a quick energy audit.

Where are you investing a lot of your time and energy? What type of activities are these?

If it is a lot of ‘doing,’ which is something I can definitely relate to. Ask yourself, how can you incorporate more nurturing, rejuvenating and fun?

The reverse is also true.  If you are doing a lot of yin-type activities, where can you step it up and take more action?

The key is to balance both the yin and the yang: the doing and the being.

Next, ask what you would love to do that you haven’t made time for that you know would be good for you?

Maybe it’s working out, yoga, hiking, reading, sleeping more, etc.

Now, schedule it!! Put it on your calendar and treat it as if it’s an appointment with someone extremely important (because it is! It’s you!!).

Taking time for yourself is one of the most loving things you can do.

If you are burnt out and uninspired, your life will be a reflection of that.

When you’re energized and inspired, your life will also reflect that.

When you have fun and appreciate your life, you’ll end up attracting even more to love and appreciate.

If you know this and still have some resistance towards implementing it (which is normal), you may have a subconscious belief keeping you stuck.

One exercise you can use to help bypass the subconscious fear is to link pleasure with doing these activities.

Write out all the benefits to yourself and others that you do these things.

Then write out all the drawbacks to yourself and others that you don’t do these things.

Aim for 25 for each (minimum).

The more your subconscious mind is on board, the more you’ll get into action to do it.

If you would love to learn more about how to live a life you are so in love with, please visit my blog at…
https://andreaparkercoaching.com/blog

I would love for you to pass this on to like-minded friends 🙂

 

 

Are you inspired to have more freedom and flexibility to do what you want when you want?

Here’s the thing…

With freedom comes constraint.

You can’t have one without the other.

Freedom and constraint are a pair, just like the yin and yang, pleasure and pain, support and challenge.

The more you try to have only one without the other, the more you attract it to you.

Instead of trying to avoid constraint, try using it to your advantage.

The key to freedom is discipline!!!

Let’s say you want more freedom and flexibility to do what you want when you want ( including time and financial freedom).

One way to achieve this is by having an organized, disciplined and consistent schedule.

Here’s how…

First,  admit what you would love your schedule to be.

For instance: What hours do you want to work? How many hours (per day, week, month, etc.)? What times do you want to work (and not work)?

Once you admit how many hours you want to work, next establish your non-negotiables.

For example, what times are you not working? Do you take Fridays and weekends off, etc.?

Design your schedule based on how you’d love it to be, not what you think you “should” or “have to” do.

Also, be mindful that you aren’t basing your schedule on a fantasy or delusion. It has to be grounded in reality and something you are dedicated to doing.

Next, stay within those designated parameters!! This is crucial if you want to have the time and abundance to do what you want.

For instance, if your client hours are Tuesdays from 10-2 pm, don’t see clients outside of those designated client hours!

Not only will this decrease your self-worth, but it will also decrease your energy and create resentment.

It may be more challenging to own your worth and stay true to your hours, but it is totally worth it!!

This is where the magic happens!!

Not only will this lead to you feeling more energized and inspired, but it will also allow you to earn more.

This can be mastery-level stuff! The truth is, it is common to experience some resistance towards sticking with your hours as this often brings up old beliefs and fears. Ie. If I work less, I’ll earn less. What if I’m unworthy or not enough? What will others think? I already don’t have enough time—etc. Etc.

These are just stories that are ready to be upgraded.

Another tip I found helpful in creating more freedom to do what I want is to book your meetings or appointments back to back.  I did this in personal training, policing (when I was a Youth Detective), and in my coaching business.

I am very protective of my schedule and consciously place people in my calendar so that they are back to back. This allows me to be “ON” and energized for that time, and it’s more FUN!

Rather than having to turn my energy up and down in between sessions. That is NOT fun and draining!

Whether you’re in a professional or business setting, the more you can take control of your schedule, the less time you’ll have to do things that you don’t want to do.

It takes discipline and often some creativity (especially if you are working for someone else). It is possible, though! I know because I have been there.

I invite you to look at your calendar and ask yourself…

Is it disciplined (based on the life that I would LOVE)?

Odds are, your schedule is a reflection of who you were and not who you are becoming.

Keep revamping it. Play with it!

Start with what you would love your schedule to be now. This can change and will change as you grow.

Please leave a comment if you LOVE (or would love) more freedom to do what you want when you want.

 

 

I just got off an inspiring call with one of my mentors, coach Dave Buck, who, in my opinion, is one of the leading coaches for coaching other coaches. He is the CEO and Head Coach of Coachville.

We were talking about playing big in business.

When you are pursuing your dream, especially if you are looking to grow your business, some actions will likely call you outside of your comfort zone.

Some of these actions may include reaching out to others, expanding your network, being visible, raising your prices, asking for help, etc.

For many people, these activities feel uncomfortable because you don’t have as much control over the outcome.

So what happens is instead of focusing on the things where you don’t have control, you move your energy and play it safer by doing the actions where you feel like you have more control.

This could include organizing your email, cleaning your office space, writing list after list, rewriting the content on your website, etc.

Instead of focusing your energy on the actions that will move your business forward, you focus your energy on the activities that feel safer and like you have more control over.

By doing this, though, you are keeping yourself and your business playing small and are holding yourself back from earning more, having a more significant impact, and more fun!

By switching things up and allowing yourself to do the activities where you have less control, like being more visible, etc., you’re going to expand your reach. You’re going to expand your capacity. Eventually, over time, it’s going to become more comfortable for you to do that.

If you haven’t already, check out my previous blog about changing your relationship with fear.

The truth is,  fear is going to be a regular part of playing big. By changing your relationship with it, you’ll be able to move forward more lovingly. Check it out here

If you are ready to become more masterful in the art of playing out of your comfort zone, especially with the activities where you have less control over, a  great place to start is to share your dream.

Share your vision with others. Let others know what you’re doing (or what you would love to be doing).

Practice this!

Play with it.

Ask for feedback.

Listen to how people respond.

The more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll become.

I invite you to practice this! If you want to practice with me, I’m here for you!

One thing I have been doing is jumping on a five-minute call with inspiring individuals, and we have been sharing our dreams.

There’s no pressure behind it. It’s meant to be fun 🙂

When you can switch from that old energy of ‘work’ having to be so series or feeling like a chore to being more playful, meaningful and fun, that’s when the magic happens.

If you are here, odds are you want to help others and have an impact. Why not have more fun while doing so.

One way to do that is to practice.

If you are interested in doing just that and jumping on a short call with me, I’d love to hear more about you and your dream:)

Please email me at [email protected] to get the conversation started.

 

 

If you have a desire to live an amazing, inspiring life, and you are waiting for the fear to go away for you to take the next steps, just know that you’ll be waiting forever.

The truth is, fear is a normal part of growing.

If you’re growing and living outside of your comfort zone, you will likely experience feelings of discomfort associated with fear.

Knowing that fear is a natural part of the growth process, instead of avoiding it or waiting for it to disappear, a wiser approach is to change your relationship with it.

The next time you feel nervous or scared to do something.

Whether it’s reaching out to new clients, speaking your truth in a relationship, saying no to someone, etc. Allow yourself to experience the fear, and take action anyway.

This is important because the more you avoid something or put it off, the more anxious and nervous you’ll feel.

Inaction creates more angst. It’s like a feedback mechanism calling for you to get into action.

Think back to a time you had a big event coming up.

Perhaps it was a big sports game, a theatrical performance or an important presentation.

Typically, leading up to the big event is where you likely experienced feeling the most nervous, anxious or uncomfortable.

Once you were in the game or activity, though, the nerves subsided, and you were probably more present and in the flow.

The fear didn’t go away until you actually did the thing that you were nervous about.

This is one reason why living an amazing life takes courage!

People who are doing inspiring things experience fear all the time.

The biggest difference between them and someone living an uninspired life is that they are willing to take action anyways!

The more action you take, the more accomplished you feel.

This feeling of accomplishment helps increase your confidence, self-esteem and your self-worth. It also allows you to be more resilient in the pursuit of new challenges.

It’s not about getting rid of fear. It’s about trusting in the process, taking a deep breath and doing it anyways.

The next time you approach something out of your comfort zone, just know that it’s normal to feel a little nervous or anxious.

Also know, that fear isn’t going to magically disappear until you actually take action steps towards that goal.

The more you take action, the more comfortable you become in doing it and the less fear you experience because it will no longer be outside of your comfort zone.

Ask yourself, where are you not taking action?

What actions are you avoiding?

What is one baby step you can take today to move that forward?

I am on a mission to help inspiring, driven, and fun souls to live a life that they are so in love with. Please share this information with anyone with who you think it may resonate.