Why it can be oh so RIGHT to take your PRECIOUS TIME in your business and life

Personal Growth • 9 CommentsNovember 30th, 2012

When we want to make something great happen in our business and life-no matter how big or small- it’s easy to assume that this must be done quickly, right now. The tick tock of the clock weighs heavily upon us as we become acutely aware of precious time slipping through our fingers like elusive gold dust.

This idea that to be successful, we must be superwoman and make it happen NOW, TODAY, YESTERDAY is reinforced by mainstream, 'traditional' self-development which is packed full of 'seize the day' mantras and other painful reminders of the fragility of life.

Now I’m not saying this encouragement is wrong. Those of you that follow my blog will know I’m a huge believer of the putting yourself on the line and going for it approach (for the reluctance to do so is often fear and unhelpful ego chat that blinds us of our true potential). But what I am acknowledging is that diving in RIGHT NOW as though you're life depended on it isn't always the best approach in every life and business situation.

Very often, giving ourselves the space, freedom and permission to take our precious time is soooooo the right thing to do.

Let's take a living, breathing example of this at work.

One of my clients is in the process of clarifying her 'niche' and USP for her business. Still working the day job and with absolute determination to get her business up and running as soon as possible, she put herself under a lot of pressure to get the perfect niche RIGHT NOW to prevent delays in the process. There was just one big problem though; piling on the pressure so that she could come up with that golden moment of inspiration just wasn't working.

WHY?

Rather than trusting the process and coming from a place of contented self-assurance, she was being driven by fear and damn right panic. These emotions (rife amongst ambitious women) stem from what Victoria Castle calls 'The Trance of Scarcity'.  When under the 'trance of scarcity' our focus is on the 'not enoughness' in our world, life and our self. There is not enough time, money- we ourselves are not perfect enough- the list goes on.

Thing is, when we're looking at life through the lens of 'not enoughness', it's exactly that experience of lack we create for ourselves. It’s like trying to light a flame with a dead match. It can’t set on fire, and even if it magically did, it’s not likely to burn for very long. When we’re coming from this place of lack and panic, we become just like that dead match, cut of from our real blazing potential. We end up exhausted, deflated; certainly not a state where our most soulful and powerful work can be born.

And the really IRONIC thing?

It's often when we let go of the pressure to get things done now, quickly, today, tomorrow, that’s exactly when things become easier and we end up getting done what previously felt like an uphill struggle. We leave the straight jacket behind and tune into our inspiration, follow our flow, listen to what feels right. I find that whenever I ‘schedule’ myself to do a blog post it just never happens. You can’t force creative flow.  Instead I follow the hunch- that irresistible urge- and it pours out effortlessly. By giving myself the ‘time’ and permission to go at my pace, I get the job done quicker- and much better- than if I forced myself to fight against the clock.

Please get me right here. I’m not at all suggesting we potter through life, following the wind and what we fancy at that given time. Of course there needs to be a container for accountability to keep us breathing life into our most dazzling life and business vision. However, for me what works so much better than the idea of 'fighting against time' by following rigid work schedules and 'goals', is the idea of bringing forth powerful intent. Intent implies clarity of vision and strength of will whilst conjuring that all important notion of delicious space.

Space to trust in yourself and the Universe. To let go of the rule book and open up whole-heartedly to the magic, mystery and wonder of life.

After all, in order to invite it in, we need to have space at the party.

At the end of the day, when it comes to making powerful progress and change in our life and business, we’re all unique and different approaches work better for some than others. However, if you’re like my client and find that no matter how hard you try you keep going round and round in circles, perhaps it’s time for a different approach?

Perhaps removing the ‘pressure’ and giving yourself some ‘space’ is exactly the thing you need?