Are You Waiting Until You Get 'Somewhere' Before You Do What You Really Want?

Peace of Mind?

Do you think that having more peace of mind would make it easier to make those decisions that look challenging and complex right now?

God, yes!

I was talking with Neil, the CEO of a very busy international development organisation. We'd talked about the content of what he was doing—the complexity of his work situation and the exhaustion he was experiencing with his long working hours, international travel, and multi-cultural working environment. 

In This Moment, Life Looked Very Tough 

We all know people like Neil—maybe we've even been that person at some point in our past. We have such blinkered vision that it can take a physical or mental meltdown to make us realise that what we're doing isn't working.

I could see that Neil and I could have talked all week about his 'challenges' so, at some point, I simply asked him if he'd be interested in talking about how to find more peace of mind.

He visibly relaxed; he smiled, and I could see that even the idea of it was calming.

You might not call it 'peace of mind'; you might call it clarity, you might call it 'being settled', you might call it flow, or calmness or being stress-free. Whatever your word or phrase, there's something that you can see as a place to get to that will bring you more ease and joy.

And Yet...

...even as Neil relaxed into the space we were creating, I could see his brain fire up again and remind him of all the things he needed to get done first. He shifted from clarity to confusion in an instant.

I could see that doubt was forming that what we were talking about was even possible.

He was experiencing a sliver of fear that 'letting go' might be the start of a slippery slope that ended in indolence and lack of motivation. That somehow daytime TV and endless supplies of biscuits were the only certain thing in his future.

I understood his world view, but I knew it was an illusion -- one that was keeping him trapped. 

Peace of Mind is the Path… 

It’s easy to say and maybe not so easy to sink into, but what if peace of mind is the path? What if the route to everything that we want in life comes from the place inside us that is most peaceful?

It sometimes looks as if this is somewhere to get to but, ask yourself, could it be that it's somewhere to come from? Could it be the place of the highest leverage in everything we do?

I Say ‘Yes’

My own experience, and what I see every day with clients is, that when we make decisions, when we lead teams, when we sit down to read a book or go for a walk with our children, being able to be completely, 100% in the room with them, mentally and physically, being able to switch-off, being able to focus and enjoy and be present, is the state of mind that drives both high performance at work, and happiness and joy in our personal relationships.

Who wouldn't want more of THAT!?

With love,

Cathy