Out of Sorts

I found the article below on Linkedin and it resonated througout my soul. I have been out of sorts for sometime, not because of new love but the fact that my love of 30 years and I have been having a long distance relationship for 18 monnths. This is not how my life was planned and has been and continues to be a very stressful existance. The four points that the writer shares can't fix my living situation but by using them as a guideline, it may help with the stress and hopefully the rest will work itself out!

Inspiration or Desperation – A 4 Step Process To A Happier More Fulfilling Life
by Sean Smith on July 29, 2010
Recently it seems like my life has been turned completely upside down. It’s as though I’ve lost that balance I used to have in life that made it all so wonderful. Several events have happened to cause me to seriously re-evaluate my life as a whole.
• I’ve moved in with my parents temporarily while transitioning to a new state of residence.
• I’ve been doing a lot of traveling as a result of my eventual move.
• I haven’t kept up with my own personal development regimen.
• The launch of my coaching program keeps getting delayed.
• I recently lost my Land Rover but luckily was able to get it back.
• And a whole lot of little things that seem to compound into bigger things.
The bottom line, my life is a mess right now and I have WAY to many balls in the air!
This got me thinking… What am I doing wrong? How is it that I let my life get so out of control? Am I operating out of inspiration or desperation?
Then suddenly, it donned on me! I knew in a sudden moment where I went wrong and when my life became such a disorganized mess!
WAIT FOR IT….
Yup, you guessed it, I FELL IN LOVE!
You’ll notice, there are a few pics of us together in the header of my blog
Ok now, don’t get me wrong… I’m completely beside myself for finally finding and reconnecting with the woman I fell in love with 17 years ago. But, it was at that point that my priorities changed and my routine deviated from that of laser focus on what I want out of life to doing everything I could to be with the woman I love.
I know, this may sound corney to some of you, but it became crystal clear to me, that the moment I reclaimed the woman I love, my whole mental outlook changed. Love is an amazing thing, and it is certainly capable of consuming you and take over your life. The key to success is in finding a balance.
Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is merely an adjustment of priorities. You see, I failed to recognize the change when it happened and did not make the proper adjustments in my life to accommodate my new love appropriately in addition to my normal routine. Once I realized this had happened, the solution to my disorganization was soon presented to me.
What resulted was this 4 step process to an organized, happier, more fulfilling life.
Step 1: Return To My Personal Development Regimen
This was the most important step to recovery. I realized that I could still enjoy the company of the woman I love while still practicing my regular personal development regimen. This shouldn’t be to difficult to do, because she enjoys many of the same things that I do. She loves to read. She loves to workout and stay fit. She is a spiritual person.
This makes the whole process of reattaining my personal development ways much easier. So, I’ve gotten back to:
• Reading and focusing on Personal Development an hour every day.
• Working out an hour every day. (Starting P90X next week!)
• Meditating 10 – 15 minutes daily.
• Enjoying time with the people I love and care about on a daily basis. (After all, they are the reason I do what I do!)
I noticed immediately that once I started back with my personal development regimen, that my quality of life instantly seemed to improve. My outlook on life was much more happy and prosperous. Things are beginning to fall into place. I FEEL GREAT!!!
Step 2: Schedule My Day
One of the many things I used to do but seem to be lacking recently was that of a solid yet flexible schedule. I find it necessary and important to plan out my day, no matter how busy or not so busy it seems to be. Google calendar has been my friend here!
I created 3 calendars in Google calendar and sync them among my laptop, desktop and iPhone.
1. Blog (Business)
2. Personal
3. Tasks
I then use these three calendars to organize and prioritize my life. Yes, it may seem a little anal, but hey it works!
On my Blog calendar I schedule my time wisely. I schedule 1 hour each day to read other blogs. This helps me stay up to date on what’s going on in the blogosphere and helps inspire blog posts and discussions. I also schedule 1 – 2 hours daily for blogging. This is when I write my blog posts.
On my Personal calendar I put any events that are relevant to my personal life, such as events for my daughter (Although she is going to have to maintain her own calendar soon!) Personal events for me, i.e. doctor appointments, workout schedule, time with family, etc…
And finally on my Tasks calendar, I put any action items I need to complete. This calendar mostly contains product development events. Currently it carries a lot of events that relate to my new Internet Marketing coaching program I’ll be launching.
Having my day planned out helps to priorities things more clearly. It simply tells me where I’m at and what I need to be doing so I don’t lolly gag around and waste time that could be spend being more productive. And by more productive, I mean in business, love and life!
Step 3: Set Attainable Goals
This is HUGE!
At that start, I sat down and wrote out some short-term and long-term goals. The point of this is to simply give me something relevant to shoot for. A target that I could achieve in an effort to experience some success no matter how great or small it is.
Writing your goals down is very important and makes them real. Write them down and put them some place you will see them daily. Read them, memorize them and re-read them. Commit them to your mind and make an effort to attain them.
Setting goals also allowed me to formulate step 4 in the process.
Step 4: Formulate An Action Plan
The previous 3 steps helped me to get organized. In this final step, I created a plan of action on how I was going to attain my goals and implement the previous 3 steps.
Write down your plan and treated as your mission, one where failure is NOT an option!
Having a plan helps guide you through the process necessary to achieve what you desire out of life. Your goals are simply milestones which you attain while taking action on your plan. No amount of success can be conceived and attained without a plan.
Summarizing
I’ve only recently re-started this process and will keep you informed as to my progress. I’m excited and confident at what lies ahead and look forward to building a better future for myself, my daughter and the woman I love so very much!
I’d like to hear from you… What are you doing to achieve your goals and better yourself? Share your own personal development regimen in the comments. I’d love to see what others are doing. And maybe I can learn from you!