Stop RESENTING your job now! Start LEADING your impact!
Was your yesterday crazy? In fact, have the last few weeks been a bit insane? If you are like most women leaders, you were:
● Trying to get everything done before Christmas.
● Trying to keep your finger on the pulse over the holidays, so nothing fell apart or blew up.
● Trying to get caught up since returning to a regular week.
Oh…and don’t forget that BIG project that’s been looming, the problem with that person and sickness, winter conditions and, well, the list goes on!
Your job is never done. Even when you are away from the office or at home in the evening, it’s hard to shut off, tune it out, or let go.
So, the workload feels heavy, unmanageable and, at times, impossible.
You are left feeling bitter, exhausted and resenting your job!
● Gone is the passion you felt for the field years ago.
● Rarely, do you feel excited, eager and enthusiastic about your days.
● Seldom do you have time to stop and acknowledge the difference you and your team are really making in the lives of your clients.
That sucks, doesn’t it?
But imagine if your job wasn’t draining you
Imagine if you felt your workload was more manageable, and you had more than fleeting moments of contentment, peace or joy
If that were the case, your resentment would disappear and you would be leading your impact.
That would be amazing, wouldn’t it?
My bet is that you don’t believe that’s really possible.
● Not in this field
● Not in this sector
● Not in this organization
Oh, but my dear, it is!
Mother Theresa found joy in Calcutta, serving the poor and destitute with limited resources and long hours.
Anne Frank found joy while she was hiding from the Nazis in a secret apartment for 25 months!!!
Meghan Markel is making her world more joyful despite the restraints of the Monarchy!
You aren’t in Calcutta, hidden away in an apartment cut off from the world or under the thumb of the Queen. Although, it may feel like all of those some days!
BUT, you too can ditch the resentment and find peace, joy and contentment in your days!
How?
Here at the two steps you need to take:
1) Decide to make it so.
2) Create your plan to ditch the resentment you feel and to find peace, joy and contentment in your days!
Are you ready? Here is how…
The secret is to PLAN the next 2–3 months!
Your 90-day plan does not have to be a perfect 90 days. It doesn’t need to match your company’s first-quarter goals. It could be 45 days or 110 days. The point is that you need to plan in smaller, more manageable segments.
** You stop resenting your job when you start intentionally dealing with the workload and leading your impact! You do that by mindfully setting aside time to plan the next 90ish days.
How planning time for personal development made a difference for these ladies!
Listen to how planning worked for some of my students. These comments come from some of the ladies in the Willpower Essentials study group.
They each made a plan for 8 weeks to carve out time to work through the course and apply it in their leadership. They knew that professional development isn’t a luxury; it’s a must for leaders!
As you read the comments, listen to the role goal setting and planning had in success for the ladies that did the Willpower Essentials course.
Their plans to readjust their schedules allowed them to complete the Willpower Essential course, and as you’ll see, feel more in control, increased energy and focus.
Take notice of how:
They indicate what goals they want to accomplish.
They use the word commit. That is being intentional.
They mention habits they are installing
They note how awareness allows them to get back on track when they slip.
They put appointments into their daytimer to work on personal development!
● Last week I was caught up with week 1 materials. I am pretty excited about that, and it was what I wanted to accomplish. This week I will get week two exercises done. I am also committing to journalling 3 times this week. This is a habit I used to do regularly but go through periods where I don’t do it. I really like journalling my ideas, thoughts and feelings because it is a good outlet, but I want to be more consistent with it.
● I was able to finish lesson one. I was going to work on this while I was in my hotel room last week for work, and then I didn’t print off any lessons. The first thing I did this morning when I got to my office was print all of the lessons and create a binder with everything in it and put it with my laptop so I can work on it.
● I decided I need to schedule it into my daytimer, so I make time for it instead of trying to fit it in.
● I planned to do the 2nd lesson at work — when that didn’t work out, the alternate plan was tonight. And now, it’s done!
Notice the successes they found!
These ladies found they were better able to resist distractions, focus and stay composed as they followed through with their plan of completing Willpower Essentials:
● I got sidetracked but worked on how to replenish my willpower after experiencing a drain — suddenly, I am aware that OMG change can be made!
● Today, I felt my willpower flagging as we were having system issues all day, but then I remembered to stop and breathe. I also got up from my desk and took a walk. At the end of the day, I was not exhausted or deflated when I went home. YAH
● I realized that when I am tired, it takes a lot more to control my thoughts and emotions. This tends to be they time the run away from me, which leads to a higher likeliness that I will reach for the chocolate or go down a rabbit hole of distraction, which in turn makes it harder to focus on what is important in that moment.
● I found this unit to be helpful. I like the idea of just breathing and going for short walks. I don’t walk enough at work. Once I get to my office, I just work and then I feel tired. On days I get out of the office, I feel energized. After watching this lesson, it makes sense. I am going to start going for short walks around the block at work after I am done my lunch. I also recognize that I need to pack an afternoon snack. At about 3 pm, I am done with work and have no energy. I think the protein snack in the afternoon will help with me have more energy.
Back to you!
It’s your turn to plan the next 30–90 days.
1) Decide what you want to accomplish
It could be a course, better work-life balance, more engagement with your team, to finish a project or to develop the courage to address a lingering conflict
2) Sit down and make a plan for how you will work on that in the coming weeks.
Commit to planning the next few weeks, and you’ll find the resentment fades and will be replaced with more peace, joy and contentment.
