Fridays are my writing and catch-up days. As a self-employed business owner and Coach, I get to organize my own schedule. Still, when Fridays and weekends roll around every week I typically feel swamped and stressed. I procrastinate about writing and I resent having to run errands.
But this past Friday felt different…
Heading into Friday, I was on top of things. My house was in good shape. I had been on task with business responsibilities all week. I consciously got caught up on some major projects–and I followed through on other important commitments to myself, like my plan to exercise 3 times this week and to eat healthfully. This week, to my surprise, I enjoyed my Friday errands. They felt like self-care, rather than a burden.
I mindfully planned the order of the errands and left the house with a list. I went to the bank to fix a problem with my online banking. I went to the shoemaker to see if my favorite suitcase could be stitched back to health (the suitcase had been sitting on the floor of my garage for about ten months, seen every single time I got into my car, but consistently ignored). I went to Jiffy Lube to get an oil change and new windshield wiper blades. Before I left the house, I even took the time to search for an online coupon (I got $10. off the oil change). Then I went food shopping and came home with delicious and healthy food.
It was a great couple of hours…and I had the rest of the day to write, or to play, or to do whatever I chose to do. OMG, this is so different for me! Anyone who has known me in years past will tell you about the disorganized, chaos of a life I used to create.
As I was thinking about sharing my Friday errands experience, I read something along the very same lines in our Members’ Forum. This was posted under “My Life in Four Words”, by a Member who is leaving town today on a trip.
Suit case is packed!
Errands yet to run.
Stress level is minimal.
Mindfulness tools really help!
Yes! I get it. She gets it! Being both mindful and proactive is the answer to creating the life we say we want! I’m convinced. Now that I know what it takes to feel this good, the exciting news is I get to create this feeling over and over again, on other Fridays and weekends…as long as I choose to “consciously” do what I now know works for me.
I know “life” will sometimes get in the way. But, in between, enjoying Friday errands is all the proof I need that living mindfully and deliberately is worth the effort!
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Ellen Shuman is a Life Coach who specializes in emotional and binge eating issues. She is the founder of A Weigh Out & Acoria Eating Disorder Treatment, Vice President of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), and Co-Chair of the Academy for Eating Disorders Special Interest Group on “Health at Every Size”, ellen@aweighout.com
