When our work is directly in service of others, we quite often spend our lives on other people’s agendas. We get all that fulfilment from the act of feeding others, but we forget that we need to be fed too. That our goals and desires matter too. Suddenly you wake up after a 10-year spell of shift after shift, only to find that the things most important to you have been badly neglected.
Now, that goal that you’re working towards this year – is it getting your full attention? Are you doing all that you need to do? Or is staying focussed a big challenge for you with everything else that’s going on?
If you are struggling like I am to give your goal a 100%, fear not. Any achievement is the result of numerous small steps, in any case. All you have to do is consistently make a little time and space for your goal. Every single day.
Get to bed as early as you can after a shift; wake up 15 minutes earlier to work on your project. Swap your shift with your colleague so you can spend the day doing research at the public library. Read or study on your way to work, instead of burying yourself in social media. Put aside your ‘tronc’ money every month towards a day out with the family. Carve out that time and space in whatever way you can. You’ll find that it’s not that hard. Some days I can give nothing to this project, but I don’t beat myself up. I simply do a review of where I am and put down some ideas.
What happens is that with any action you take, you keep the momentum going. Amidst all that’s going on, you sharpen your focus towards your goal so that your mind is awake to opportunities. And most important of all, you honour yourself by paying attention to what is important to you.
Feed yourself first, chef!