Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Feb/March 2018 Aspire Mag Full Issue: Inner Prospe | Page 96
My questions
revealed to me
that I could, in fact
have all the things
I kept saying I
wanted. The way
was open. I just
had to choose.
magic. But revamping my business model,
as excited as that sounded, didn’t solve
the deeper, more fundamental issue I was
facing: How could I stop working so hard,
and start reclaiming the parts of my life I’d
been neglecting?
Well, the only way to know is to ask. So I
started applying my questioning techniques
to other areas of my life. And … chaos
ensued.
I’ve always been hyper-focused on work.
I’ve been an entrepreneur since the ripe old
age of twenty-three. My work has been a
major part of my identity—not so much in
terms of what I do, but in terms of how my
work ethic sets me apart. I take a lot of pride
in being the kind of person who gets things
done, and done right.
But when I applied my questions to things
like self-care and time management—when
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I started asking things like, “What if I made
my health my highest priority? What if I took
two hours a day to drive to the gym and
work out? What if I set a time to knock off
work each day, and stopped saying, ‘I just
have to finish this one little thing’?”—I was
led deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole,
to the question at the core of it all:
“What if I became the kind of person who
takes care of herself—mind, body, and
soul—instead of the kind of person who
finishes her work at all costs?”
Oh, shit.
The thing was, when I asked the questions,
I could see that person. I could almost touch
her. But she was so fundamentally different
than me. She had her priorities straight.
She had time and energy for her family.
She made choices about her health and her
time based on her vision for her future, not
the needs of today’s projects. She had an
actual schedule (a huge fear point for this
rebel creative) and followed through on all
of her commitments, not only the ones with
deadlines and payments attached.
I’ve always known this version of me was
possible. What I had thus far refused to
see was that she was—is—only a few
choices away.
My questions revealed to me that I could,
in fact have all the things I kept saying I
wanted. The way was open. I just had to
choose.
I’ve always considered myself a disciplined
person. And I have been—when it comes
to work. Everywhere else, I’m wishy-washy.
Willing to compromise. Uncommitted. More,
www.AspireMAG.net | February / March 2018