So, last week I sent out a little survey to discover what, exactly was important to you.
It was pretty eye-opening to say the least.
First, the biggest eye opener was that the majority of those on my email list DID NOT OPEN the email.
That's right.
Out of 837 emails sent, a mere 238 actually opened it, and out of those only 50 clicked and actually completed the survey.
Ouch.
I have spent much of the last week asking questions like: Do my emails get into your primary in box? Do you see them? Do you even want to read them? Am I even relevant?
Yes, ouch.
To those of you who did open and complete the survey, thank you!
To those of you who didn't I am giving you an out. I do not want to crowd your inbox with an email you don't want and potentially add to your stress of having to deal with said over-loaded email inbox. Please, go ahead and unsubscribe. Really. It won't hurt my feelings at all. I'm being totally serious. Life is too short to get emails you don't want.
And that's the Ah-Ha Moment. Life is too short.
Too short to spend time in obligation to an overloaded email in-box filled with things we don't want to read.
Too short to live in a "yes" place when we really want to say "no"
Too short to stay stuck because the way forward is unclear
Too short to allow fear of disappointing others, upsetting the norm, or dealing with unintended and unforeseen consequences to keep us locked away in a limited life.
Yes, Life is too short.
Do you want to know the other part of the Ah-Ha moment?
Of the 50 of you who answered the survey the number one place you say you want more coaching is in making time to take care of yourselves (59%).
Followed by:
Managing Anxiety and Fear (49%)
Finding the time to do what you love (32%)
Achieving the goals you have (29%)
Building effective boundaries in your life (27%)
And a three-way tie (22%) between:
Balancing work with the rest of your life
Streamlining what you need to do to take care of your homes
Learning to say "yes" and "no" better
Seriously, life is too short not to make the time to take care of ourselves and do what we love. And it's not lost on me that fear and anxiety management are right up there with not taking care of ourselves.
So, what's a woman who is struggling to take care of herself, do what she loves, establish healthy boundaries, and effectively manage fear and anxiety to do?
Pray. I KNOW I say this all the time, but seriously, prayer, especially praying Scripture over yourselves and your life, effects change. How else will we really know how to stop doing whatever it is we are doing that is keeping us from doing what we want to do? I am committing to praying this scripture over my life right now because, honestly, I struggle with the same things you do: You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast becasue they trust in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
Move. Make a change. Say no to others. Say yes to yourself. Take a step into the unknown and see what happens. Me? I'm right here with you on the edge of the unknown; not wanting to stay where I am but having no real clue where I'm supposed to go. So, I'm looking around at my life, taking inventory of all that I'm doing because I'm supposed to, asking God if it's still valid and moving on if it isn't. The first thing I'm letting go of? Indecision. I'll write more on this later, but I have come to see that much of my anxiety and fear is because I worry over every. single. little. decision. No more. I am committing to making a decision and following it through, remaining steadfast in my trust that God is good and will direct me.
I hope you will keep coming here and reading these posts. I hope too that you will join in the conversation and let me know what's going on with you, ask a question, or share something you're learning. I promise, I want to hear from you!
One more thing...If you ever need a "me time" moment, I hope you will visit my Facebook page. I am planning on posting short (1 minute) Me Time Moment videos to help you make time for yourself. 1 minute. You can give yourself that each day, can't you?