First published on www.lifegrid.com.au on 09/03/2017

There are days when it can feel like you’re being pulled from pillar to post.

It’s a strange place to be when your life is flowing effortlessly and your work is connecting so strongly with everyone around you that more and more people want what you’re offering. It can seem as though every time you blink there is someone else wanting you to do something else for them and/or their business.

Everyone loves your work so much that they want their clients to have it too. Everyone wants what you can provide! But how do you give everyone what they want while still moving your business forward and making sure you keep the lights on?

Yes, being in demand comes with some challenges … but they’re great challenges to have.

As a Simplicity Expert, I spend a lot of time showing people how they can easily transition through the highs and lows of life. My experience has shown me that there are a few simple but important things to implement in your life that will support you, whether you are experiencing a high or a low.

  • Define and identify your values.

Most of us are never taught to identify our values. Instead, our social conditioning takes over and we end up living a life that we are programmed to live by others.

When we define and identify with our own set of values, it is easier for us to make choices in our lives that are aligned with what is most important to us.

Once we know what our values are we can easily use them to determine what activities support our values. For those times when you are inundated with requests to do things for other people, you can use your values to work out what things you should and shouldn’t be doing.

If you don’t know what your values are, there is a free resource on my website that will help you work them out:

www.sheiqlife.com/free-tools

  • Set solid boundaries and defend them rigorously.

There’s a well-known saying: “it never rains, it pours.” And if we’re not careful we can find ourselves caught in the trap of trying to be everything to everyone all the time. This is especially true when you’re in high demand.

You can find yourself with your head down, madly trying to meet deadlines that were totally unrealistic, and that you agreed to without any real thought about whether or not you should be participating in the activity in the first place.

So, once you have your values in place, the next step is to work out what your boundaries are.

Your boundaries are the lines you aren’t prepared to cross, no matter what is offered to you. These are the lines that you know will support you in your everyday activities, and that will ensure you remain aligned with who you are, and what you stand for.

For example, you may be passionate about health and wellbeing … so you’re unlikely to want to align with another business whose focus is at odds with this, even if the ‘deal’ sounds great otherwise.

Your boundaries will make it easy for you to remain consistent in your behaviour and your communication. The more consistent you are, the more aligned your clients will be to you.

  • Make sure you re-energise every day.

Work out your non-negotiable activities that must be in every day to ensure you are OK.

I’m a big believer that your energy levels should be the measure of your health. If your energy is low then it is a sign that your body needs you to provide it with nourishment. Nourishment comes in the form of quality food as well as activities that allow you to de-stress and spend time away from demanding situations and people.

Work out what you need to support you every day. For example, I make sure there is meditation and movement of some sort every day. These are non-negotiable items for me. They come first and everything else vies for the remaining time in the day.  Other people I know spend time reading a good book, which allows them to escape to another world for a while. Others love to go for a run.

Find out what works for you. Schedule time for it every day, and make it the first priority in your diary.

There will always be demands on us – at different stages and to varying degrees. You can choose how you handle the demands:

  • Option 1: Allow them to get out of control and rule how you act, react, think and behave.

or

  • Option 2: Change the demands into requests, work out which ones align with your values and incorporate the ones that do align into the flow of your life.

My advice to you is this: make sure the choice you make is conscious.

 

Want more info? There are loads of tips and tricks on living and thinking differently in my book ‘Keep It Super Simple’ – you can buy a copy. Follow my social links.

Want to chat? Email me on info@sheiqlife.com or call me on +61 438 624 868 and we’ll set up a time!