The Beauty of Slow Living

It seems time is an issue in almost everyone’s life. And it’s usually the lack of it. Do you feel that time is running out, passes by too fast, or that you have too many things on your plate and too little time to get them done? You are not alone. I think the distorted relationship with time is one of our biggest problems. Our lists are too long, we experience (or create) too many interruptions, too many things demand our attention, we consume too much information. And it all causes anxiety, dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

This summer I’m practicing SLOW LIVING. I cut my working days to 3 a week, I cut my hours. I take trips with my kids every weekend. I’m taking time to shop at the farmers’ market, to cook, and to actually eat slowly and with pleasure. I am living it up and I love it. Oh, I’m even practicing “wasting” time by not doing anything meaningful or purposeful for at least half an hour a day. I read the saying “If you cannot waste your time, you don’t own your life”. I agree.

I am a hard-core time addict, so my new evolution is taking me a little out of my comfort zone. But I see the rewards already: calmer, more accepting existence, more flavor and color in my life.
Here’s what I’m finding out:

• There is enough time.
• Time simply cannot run out.
• The more time I take to do something, the better it is done.
• The more time I take to do something, the more I enjoy it.
• Things come easier, literally. Something I was planning to be a huge project this summer, simply happened on its own.
• The world is more beautiful.
• The food tastes fantastic when you take time to eat it slowly.

Stop chasing time. Keep it simple this summer. Simplify your life and your to-do list. If you can’t accomplish it all during the day, maybe you have unrealistic expectations. Taste your life this summer, you might love it.

Enough Time

Last week was a big breakthrough for in the area of time planning, time management, time mapping. After much of stress and frantic running from one task to another in the last months, I finally faced the truth: I only have 29 hours a week for work when my kids are in preschool, and that’s only during the weeks they are not sick. And I am trying to do squeeze so much into that time! I was feeling frustrated with myself for not progressing quickly enough in so many areas.

Last week was a moment of truth for me. I woke up to the reality of my time limitations and I decided to love them and work with them. I completely restructured my approach to what really needs to be done, how much time I need for each project, and what are the most important things I want to spend my time on. It worked beautifully. I really feel I am on a path to liberation from time stress.

I will keep you posted. I will test my new system in the next days, make adjustments and will tell you all about it.

Lots of Love.

Update on My Tolerations

My list of tolerations (please see the previous post) is down by 5. I took care of 5 smaller and larger items of things that are sitting in my way to bliss. Feels lighter already. Feels like getting rid of the rest of them is doable. I am inspired to go get rid of all of them by working through the list one by one, at a pace that feels right. I am reminding myself that it’s not only the result that counts but also the minute-by-mitute work we call life.

Tolerations

I want to talk to you about your tolerations. Tolerations are things in life we put up with. Like a messy closet, documents waiting to be filed, too many sweets you eat, an conversation you need to have with your loved one… Things that are not that important on the surface but would make our life much more pleasant if they got taken care of and went away. They occupy space in our brains (even if we are not thinking of them at the moment), take space in our closets, are permament items on our to-do lists. They take our energy and don’t let us function on the highest level.

So, what are you tolerating in life? List all the items that you would like to change, replace, throw out, update, resolve… (for a helpful list of over 200 typical tolerations go to: Free Resources/Tolerations ) Then imagine your life free of all of them. Feels nice, doesn’t it?

I recently looked at my list of tolerations and discovered that I’m putting up with 23 smaller and bigger items I could do without. I imagined having them gone, resolved, done, and…. I felt such lighness and freedom that it really inspired me to action. I decided to stop tolerating them and one by one remove them from my list.

You can do the same. Let me know how it worked for you!

Lots of love!

Margaret

The “Having Too Many Possessions” and “Doing Too Many Things” Trap

It’s Saturday morning and we are busy cleaning our apartment. I start off enthusiastically and energetically, full of hope I will be done in an hour. Two and a half hours later I’m tired, frustrated and angry at the whole world, especially my kids. I’m yelling at them that for the hours I have to spend picking up their toys, for the fact that nothing is in its place, that they don’t listen to me when I ask them to clean up after every play. I see apprehension and fear in their eyes. Doesn’t feel good.

OK, so let’s stop the insanity for a minute (like right now) and go beyond the superficial objects of my anger and frustration. What am I really angry at? What is sipping my energy in this particular situation? TOO MANY THINGS WE HAVE! Kids have too many toys, I have too much stuff. Not only that, we are constantly busy with using too many of them. Boys have their Lego projects, cars, books, and other 100 toys all laying around because “Mom, I haven’t finished playing with it”, I have 10 business projects, knitting projects, yantra drawing projects, cooking projects, and many others all laying around waiting to be finished.  Let’s not forget about 12 books I have on my nightstand, all being read and unfinished.

I really think we (and I mean our global village) are addicted to stuff, projects, doing too much, buying too much, owning too many things, taking in too much information. Insanity I’m so tired if. There has to be another way. I don’t know how, but I am determined to look for it today. I’ll keep you posted.

Lots of love. Any wise word on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

M

Tele-Workshop Today!

Just a quick note for those of you who are ready for important changes in their lives in 2010. Today (2/10) at 12 noon Central Time (10 AM PST, 11 AM MST, 1 PM EST, 7 PM Warsaw)I will be hosting a free tele-workshop called Make the 2010 the Year That Changed Everything. You are invited to participate! You can join in via the telephone in a convenience of your home.

This workshop is designed to give you solid tools, structure and inspiration to go after the important things in your life. Things that you’ve been thinking about, dreaming about, talking about, maybe even taking some action toward achieving. Things that could use support, inspiration and guidance.

This is what will happen:
1. You will have a clear, verbalized picture of what you really want.
2. You will walk out with an inspiring and practical action plan to getting there.
3. You will be equipped with valuable tools that will help you work on your plan and make your dreams a reality in 2010.
4. You will be given an opportunity to take the next steps  with your goals.

Most of all, you will connect in a fun way with other like-minded and like-spirited women and receive lots of loving
support.

The tele-workshop will be held via a conference line in the US and it will last 60 min.

To register, go to: 

http://youevolved.com/Teleclass.html

Lots of Love! Hope to see you there!

Margaret

Make the 2010 the Year That Changed Everything. Seriously.

My 2009 was the year that changed everything already - I moved to Poland and that DEFINITELY changed everything:) So I’m on a roll and decided to make the 2010 as significant for my life. I am very ready to take my life coaching business to the next level, or maybe even up 3 levels. Not only I’m “ready”, I am actually taking tons of focused actions to get it there. I hired a business coach, made a plan, and I’m plowing through it. When I succeed, I will be able to work with many more people, make more money, have more fun, and it will change my lifestyle to what I really want it to be.

Everyone of us has this one thing that if we could change, shift, turn it around, it would make all the difference in the world. It could be what you do for a living, how much money you make, where you live, how much time you spend with your kids, how your relationship is working for you, if you have a relationship to speak of, etc.  What’s yours? What is the one things you want to have different at the end of 2010?

When you define it, see it clearly, state it, share it, you are already creating waves in the Universe to transform it.

Love, love, love.

Margaret

Home with Sick Kids and Not Unhappy

I haven’t left the house in 3 days. Kids have been sick since January 1st, and it looks like it’s going to continue for  a few days. I decide not to be unhappy about it and use that time for things we can do at home. Goddess knows I need some rest and a slowdown, this is a perfect opportunity. I needed that time for a clean up in my unfinished projects, unfinished books, messy drawers. Feels good to do small things.  I feel much lighter now than 3 days ago. Ready for bigger action.

I started reading The Four Hour Workweek, a really fun way to expand your vision. It is helping me redefine and clarify my vision for my life in Poland (and in the Universe:). I decided to expand my business activities to include those that would bring me passive income. I’m very excited about it.

On a different topic: We have truly wonderful Christmas and a New Year in Poland – our first one in a new country. We really got into the spirit of Holidays, and Holly Days they were indeed. All thanks to wonderful friends we have here.

How I Couldn’t See That I Needed a Vacation

I was told to take a solid two-week vacation by my business coach. This came out of a coaching session I had with him yesterday. It came at first as a complete surprise and a moment later it became “HOW COULDN’T I SEE IT??”

So this is a story about how we all have a blind spot when we are looking at our own stuff and how we need another human being whose feedback we can trust to straighten us out from time to time. Apparently, we, the life coaches are not immune to the blind spotJ

Let’s start from the beginning. Four months ago I moved to Poland with my 2 kids from US where I lived for 25 years. I planned to move for the last 5 years and was very ready for it emotionally, meaning that I was looking forward to it, was ready to say my loving goodbyes to America and my loving hellos to Europe. Preparation for the move was long and tough, no surprise here. I separated from my husband over 2 years ago and had to switch my thinking from moving with his help to moving without it.  I had to make plans for either selling or renting my house in the US, for living and financially sustaining myself and my kids in Poland, for the actual physical move, including arranging the transportation of all my furniture and belongings. At the same time I was diligently working on my coaching business development and raising two small kids singlehandedly.

All of it was a lot of work and I am extremely proud of myself for pulling the whole thing through. I moved, unpacked, and I’m very much still in the process of finding my way in a country that on many levels is new to me.

Once I felt somewhat settled and organized here, I immediately moved to the last portion of my big life change plan – marketing and building my coaching business in Poland. I sat down, created a plan of action for my marketing and immediately went to work. I got the “easy” stuff done: translated my marketing materials and my website to Polish, started making some business contacts here, talked to my friends about what I’m doing so they can refer clients to me. Now came the time for a more challenging part: looking for speaking and presentation opportunities and creating strategic alliances for my business. This part is challenging not only because it takes a lot of planning and execution, but also because it takes a lot of courage and self-confidence.

I found myself stalling, procrastinating, looking for excuses, tired, sick, exhausted, in short – not able to do it with good energy. I couldn’t figure out why. I didn’t recognize myself, I was wondering where my usual enthusiasm and zest for life and business went. I found myself struggling every day, I didn’t look forward to my marketing work. I felt I pushed against the grain and it didn’t feel good. I was deflated, disconnected, stressed out, extremely tired and frustrated all at once. I dreaded sitting in front of my computer.

I figured I needed to talk to someone. I asked my business coach for an individual session with me. Let me tell you a little about my business coach. His name is Michael Charest, he owns a company called Business Growth Solutions which coaches solopreneurs on business development. He is extremely talented, very successful, known in his field guy, whom I adore, admire and respect. I participated in his program last year and found it a “real deal”. What I wanted out of the individual session with him was to get motivated, inspired, strengthened, ready for action, ready for risks, all fired up. What I got was this: “Margaret, YOU NEED A VACATION”.

I was not prepared for it. The truth of it hit me hard and brought tears to my eyes. I felt that truth deeply in my heart and I knew he was right. But being the work horse that I freely admit I am, it was difficult for me to accept. I told Mike that I am going to have a problem taking a vacation now when I need all the money I can earn. This is what he told me and what got me convinced: “If you don’t take a vacation now and jump into the business right away, you will never take a breath. And you will always operate at 60%. Take a two week break and come back at 100%.”

It is time for me, Margaret, now. I’ve worked very, very hard for a very, very long time.  I am taking a vacation now. Starting today. I am allowing myself to do what I feel like in the next weeks. I will take long walks, immerse myself in my city, get to know it again, immerse myself in Poland. I will get a massage, a manicure, and buy myself some new outfits. I will take time to read Zwierciadło (my favorite Polish magazine) and to read books. I will listen to Byron Katie’s “A Thousand Names for Joy” CD. I will slow down, taste every moment, be present. Sounds so delicious already.

Life is good. I’m so happy I reached out for help and received it. It takes another human being (preferably a coachJ) to see your own truth for you, to see your bigger truth, not just what seems to be in front of your nose or on your desk.

I’ll keep you posted on how my vacation goes.

Lots of LOVE.

Driving is Driving Me Crazy

I moved back to Poland 3 months ago. After 25 years of living in the US. Why and how is a long story and I might tell you later. But one of the reasons I moved was that I wanted to live in an European city and have the European city lifestyle of walking. Walking to my kids’ preschool, walking to a store, to a bank, to a post office. Living downtown and walking as much as possible.

I love walking, always have. There is nothing like moving through town, being among people, feeling the energy of the city, looking at store widows, stopping for errands, meeting friends on the way. For me there is an absolute magic in it. I feel fed by the street, I feel fed by people’s energy. There is meditation in it for me, a walking meditation. Living in the US, in the suburbs of Chicago I have missed it terribly. Sure I walked in my neighborhood, but it was more like taking a walk, not going SOMEWHERE. It’s not the same.

So now I’m back, ready for the European walking lifestyle, and what do I do?
I DRIVE!!!

I drive to my kids’ preschool, to the store (a big hipermarket), to the post office. I’m renting an apartment that is not exactly in the center of the city, but not suburbs either. The reality is that to get my errands done on foot, I need to take a bus downtown. Not a huge deal, the bus stop is nearby, the buses here are every few minutes, and the bus drive is about 5 minutes. And my kids love ride on a bus.

So why am I not NOT doing it? The damn addiction to convenience and time saving. Or rather to trying to do too much in less time. So I’m still driving and looking with envy at the people with no cars. I’m getting yellow with jealousy. Their lifestyle seems so much more balanced, natural and beautiful. I want to have what they have!!

So, being a life coach, I feel I’m obligated not only to myself but to my clients to live as I please. I want to walk, so I shall. Maybe not every day, maybe not everywhere, but I am making a committment to do it. I am starting with “Ecological Fridays” when we will ride on a but to the preschool and back, I will walk back home most of the way from preschool, I will stop at stores, visit the little streets I didn’t have a chance to see yet since I arrived. I am going to fit it nicely into my schedule and make it a priority. And after my lease is over, I will rent or buy a place in the very center of town. 

I just read somewhere: Take more time and cover less ground. That’s what I want to do. Life is too good to be lived quickly.

Lots of love to all of you.