Are you on a path you want to be on (anymore)?
Do you want something different in your life?
This week’s blog is inspired by Jacinda Ardern and her decision to resign as PM of New Zealand.
Knowing what you don’t want can be just as important as knowing what you do! But it’s not just knowing that matters, it’s acting on it for your benefit that really counts.
Taking Jacinda’s recent announcement as our example: she wasn’t booted out unceremoniously, nor was she voted out. She chose for her tenure as PM to come to an end with these words:
‘Politicians are human. We give all that we can, for as long as we can, and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time. I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice.’
So simple, and yet conveying what it needed to, no more, no less: why she will no longer be PM. I know some will say her popularity was waning, and it was a jump before a push, and so on; I guess speculation and questioning of your true motives is inevitable when you’re a high-profile political figure. But only she knows the truth, and I believe her when she said there isn’t enough left in the tank to continue. It’s certainly a valid reason for one, and I think it also takes courage to say it, which also does not surprise me about her.
As an aside you’ll notice that she didn’t reference being a woman, a mum, nor the youngest ever female leader of a nation when she was elected, the media did that for her! However, this blog isn’t about the media’s perception, or being a working mum for that matter, it’s about letting go of things when we need to, saying no and moving on. Is that something we all could do a bit more of? I think possibly yes, and sometimes sooner!
Most of us won’t face public scrutiny of our decision-making, it’s to ourselves we ‘justify’ our decisions most of the time. I think one of the main problems we face in the hectic busyness of our everyday lives is that we just continue to do what we do because there just doesn’t feel like there’s time to hit the pause button and assess where we are, what we are doing and why. Those feel like big questions that take time to answer and there’s all the stuff you need to just get on with in the meantime!
The things is, they are really valid and important questions that do deserve some of your precious time and attention. And you don’t have to have the perfect answer, or all of the answers, straight away. Just the occasional pause and check-in is a great barometer to start answering the question at the very start of the blog – are you on the path you want to be on (anymore)? I highly recommend you try it and without fear of what the answer may be. If at any time the answer is no, you don’t just have to veer off the path immediately and blindly into the nearest metaphorical forest either!
Your particular situation may involve small changes or bigger changes you wish to make – but just acknowledging, recognising and intending to take action on them is the first and probably largest step.
So, maybe for once we can take some inspiration from a politician, (I jest, I’m sure there will have been more than one occasion), and be courageous enough to admit we don’t want something anymore because it no longer feels right. The path may still be there, you just don’t have to choose to take it.
If you’d like some support to take it from there, please do get in touch, I would love to see if I can help. As a qualified life coach, supporting others to tune into their definite wants and take steps towards making that a reality is what lights me up. Let's talk - kathryn@kbmindfulcoaching.com or book in for a chat on my clarity consultation page.
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