The moment is now...

How many times do we put things off, only to find, years later that we still haven't done them. It's crunch time!

It must be the time of year - the clocks (in the UK) have gone back, Christmas party invitations are starting to come in and the end-of-year reflections are a whisker away. It’s all got me thinking about the year ahead and the many changes I have planned.

The changes include a life transformation - coming up next month (more about this in a future post), and the preparations for it have been in progress since this time last year.

As the date of my life transition approaches, I’m reminded of other transitions, plans, ideas or even things to do that didn’t quite make it beyond a thought or a line on a to do list. Some, rightly, will not see the light of day, but what about all the other things?

There are lots of things.

The things we put off because we’re busy.The things we put off because we have other more important things to do.

The things we put off because we know we’ll do them at some point.

Sometimes the plans, ideas or to dos are forgotten altogether (how many note books have I lost or forgotten at the back of a cupboard?).

Sometimes they are brought sharply into focus when we are suddenly reminded that it is now too late or that the opportunity may never present itself in the same way again.

Is it important enough or not?

I won’t pretend to have the answers, but in my own experience, I do know that if we feel something is important enough to us or to someone dear to us who is relying on us, we’re more likely to make time for it sooner rather than later. If the cost of not doing something will be so great that it will become excruciatingly painful, we’ll find the time to do it.

But the question I keep asking myself is why do we wait? Why leave things languishing, why risk forgetting about them, why risk the pain or the repercussions of leaving them for too long or until it’s too late?

The answers may come in time and they may look different to each of us. In the meantime I’m going to put my ideas, plans and to dos in a variety of different places - desk diary, list, electronic diary (as a repeating item), and as I write them, I’ll work on any actions that can be easily completed there and then.

It’s worth a try.

Debbie

Have you been thinking about working with a coach on your life transitions? Now may be the right time for you. I am passionate about supporting clients and offer a choice of 1:1 coaching programmes for clients who are ready to do things differently.

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This post was inspired by a thought-provoking poem my husband sent me today. The poem was written, I understand, by Caitriona Loughrey. It appears to have no title, but it starts with the line: ‘Barely the day started and…it’s already six in the evening.’