Today I got out of bed at 3:45 a.m. I can hear you thinking, “For the love of God, why? Was Beyonce promising to teach you how to dance? Did Chris Hemsworth offer you a morning massage?” Nope. It’s Tuesday, and that means I get up early to set up for my 5 a.m. Body-Safe Bootcamp. I don’t really LIKE waking up that early, but it’s worth it. I get to see all my boot-camp warriors filing in the door with bed-head and sleepy smiles, and I know my day is going to be grrrrreat!
Motivating those intrepid souls to push the envelope of their body’s strength, sweating and straining together to be stronger and leaner, makes my frickin’ WEEK! There’s something so satisfying about doing the hard stuff that seems painful in the short term but so valuable once it’s complete. It means all the more if you’ve really worked for it. So, I ask you, given that we all have 24 hours in a day, what’s worth your time and energy?
This has been a 9-year journey for me. When I started my life-coaching certification in 2010 (three days after I was diagnosed with breast cancer), I began looking at my daily schedule differently. At the time I had a TO-DO list a mile long that made me feel like going back to bed every time I looked at it. During my training I learned that the longer the list, the less likely you were to complete it. I developed a different kind of list that only had 3-5 things on it that I could absolutely accomplish, even if the wheels fell off my day. I called it, “Things I Get to Do Today”. Everything else went on a different list entitled “Universe’s List”** I called it my Energy Worthy Worksheet, after the Seinfeld episode that posed the question, “Is he sponge-worthy?” If you haven’t seen this episode, YouTube it immediately after you finish this blog! If you want to try the worksheet for yourself, click the pdf above.
TODO lists are only as good as how you use them. To make them meaningful, you must ask yourself, “What is worth my time?” Only you can answer that question, and, yes, you do have a choice.
On the daily, my friends, family and clients say to me, “I have to” followed by a litany of dreadful chores. This is usually said as an explanation of why they haven’t taken care of themselves that day. They haven’t slept, sweated, meditated, eaten healthy food, consumed enough water, because they “have to” do something for someone else. To this, I reply, “Poppycock!” You have a choice of how to spend your time and energy, because you are the one who gets to decide what you do. Even doing nothing is a choice; sometimes it’s the best choice. And sometimes doing more than you think you can is the best choice.
Back to Boot-camp. I started the class, because my goal this year is to build my strength. If I surround myself with people doing the same thing, my inner curmudgeon doesn’t jump in and say, “No way, Jose! I am NOT doing that, because it’s too hard.” I created a class that IS hard, and it’s also a ton of fun. But the beauty part is the unintended consequence of pushing my comfort zone: I get the satisfaction of helping other humans push their comfort zone, and together we grow stronger. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my early wake up/motivational sessions set me up for the best days of my whole week. Pushing my comfort zone makes me feel like a super-hero. One of my very wise, very young boot-camp regulars told me today, “doing something for yourself early in the day makes you feel like you matter. And the rest of the day goes well, because you put yourself first.” Yowza! Out of the mouths of babes.
So, I ask you, “What’s worth your time today?” How will you put yourself first? What is that thing that seems hard, but you know it’s really worth it? Answer that question from deep inside your heart, and then put THAT thing at the top of your TO-DO list. If you have any questions about the worksheet, or just want to chat, email me at terrif@findyourpride.org.
XOXO
Terri
