Author name: JSCreative

What Is Self-Awareness & Why Is It Important?

What is Self-Awareness, and Why Is It Important? | jscreative.ca

Have you ever stopped to wonder exactly why you do the things you do? Think back to the last time you had a really bad day. Maybe you ended up going home and eating a whole package of Oreos. And then thirty minutes later, realized eating them didn’t solve your problem or make you feel any better? Or perhaps last time you felt particularly overwhelmed, instead of starting to chip away at your to-do list, you binge-watched an entire season (or two) of a show. And when you finally turned off Netflix, felt even more overwhelmed because you just wasted hours and accomplished nothing?

If you are nodding along and thinking, “Yes. Sometimes it feels like life just happens to me and I don’t have any control over it,” I’d like to teach you a different way.

It’s called self-awareness and you’ve probably heard the word before—it’s one of those words that seems to get thrown around a lot, along with self-care and other buzzy words. But if you are ready to change some patterns in your life, it’s a term you need to get very familiar with.

The patterns you want to change don’t have to be eating junk food or your screen habits. It might be a pattern in your relationships, or the way you react to certain situations. To start making changes, you have to become self-aware. This isn’t a one-time, check-it-off-the-list type situation. It’s going to be a process, and according to author Mark Manson, there are three levels of self-awareness you need to move through.

Level 1: Choosing feeling over distraction.

We live in a world full of distractions. We carry around distractions in our pocket. If we’re bored in a grocery line or waiting room, we pull out our phones. If the conversation around us gets boring, we can tune into a different conversation online. If we get into a fight with a friend or have a bad day at work, there are endless options to forget: a new show, mind-numbing hours of Candy Crush, scrolling our favorite websites. And that’s not mentioning all the distractions that existed well before the internet: food, alcohol, and hundreds of other things can help us hide our true feelings. The first step to becoming more self-aware is to realize when we are choosing distraction instead of feeling—and then make a different choice. It’s not that you have to completely ditch your favorite distractions, but rather choosing to not let them cover up your feelings. Recognize when you are using distractions to not feel something. And then, let yourself feel that thing.

Level 2: Uncovering your feelings.

Once you’ve chosen feeling over distraction, it’s time to start figuring out what your feelings mean. Is your heart racing because you are anxious or because you are angry? Are you feeling overwhelmed or are you using your to-do list to hide the fact that you are actually terrified about taking a risk? Naming and understanding what you are feeling is crucial to the process of becoming more self-aware. When you understand your emotions, you are better able to recognize why you do the things you do.

Level 3: Recognizing your weaknesses.

As we start choosing feelings over distractions, and uncovering just what those feelings are, we can start to uncover patterns and weaknesses in ourselves. We can recognize that maybe it’s not a good idea to make decisions when we’re hungry (or before coffee). We can see that when we have a bad day at work, we bring it home. Until we understand these things about ourselves, it’s hard to know how to break bad habits and patterns.


Once you’ve moved through these three levels, the goal is to move towards accepting yourself. As you become more aware of your feelings and weaknesses, you also become more aware of how to be more empathetic and compassionate towards yourself—and others.

The journey towards self-awareness is going to take work. There’s no set amount of time at each level, and your path might be more of a winding road than a straight shot through the three levels. But once you’ve become aware of your feelings and weaknesses, you’ll have a clearer view of who you are. And this will help you be more confident, more decisive, and able to make consistent progress towards creating the life you want.

Self-awareness is a practice, something you can constantly be cultivating and improving. A few tips to try on the journey towards improving your self-awareness:

  • Think about the last stressful situation you were in. How did you respond? If you’d gone into the situation knowing it was going to be stressful, how could you have prepared yourself differently? If your last stressful situation was a tough conversation with a boss or a loved one, think about how you could have prepared yourself differently. If you’d scheduled twenty minutes to take a walk afterwards to clear your head instead of jumping straight into your next commitment, how might that have changed the experience for you?
  • Become intentional about eliminating distractions so you can pay more attention to what’s happening in the moment. Put your phone somewhere you can’t easily access it. Do you always have the television on in the background? Practice leaving it off for twenty or thirty minutes at a time and build up to longer time periods (if you really need something in the background, opt for instrumental music instead).
  • Journal. You’ll be surprised at what you can uncover by taking time to journal. If everyday journaling doesn’t appeal to you, consider trying it when you are having trouble making a decision or dealing with a stressful situation.

As you learn to cultivate self-awareness, you’ll move further down the path of creating a life you love.

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The Difference Between a Fixed vs. Growth Mindset


Have you ever wondered about the difference between people who seem to always be jumping to the next challenge, constantly trying something new, doing amazing things with their lives, and those who seem kind of stuck? 

There’s one key difference at the heart of it, and that’s mindset. One of these groups has a fixed mindset and the other has a growth mindset. 

People with a fixed mindset think, “Well, it is how it is and I can’t change it, so why bother trying?” They are less likely to try new things, less likely to push out of their comfort zones, and honestly, a lot of the time, they are less fun to be around! Every new idea is met with resistance and they love to complain about how things are but don’t want to try and make them better. 

On the other hand, you have people with a growth mindset. This group of people views challenges as opportunities to grow. They might not know how to do something, but they are willing to put themselves out there and try, even when it’s hard or uncomfortable. This group thinks of themselves as lifelong learners.

Have you ever seen a news story about a seventy or eighty-year-old going back to college and graduating with a bunch of twenty-one year-olds? Those young-at-heart graduates have a growth mindset. They wanted to learn something new or they wanted to be able to say they finally got their diploma, so they went out there and did it! 


It’s never too late to try something new. It’s never too late to adjust your mindset. 

If you aren’t sure whether you have a growth or fixed mindset, use a few minutes to answer the three questions below. Getting out a pen and paper and writing down your answers is the best way to do this—you might be surprised at what comes out when you start writing.

  1. Do I feel resistance to answering these questions? If so, this may be a sign of a fixed mindset.
  2. What patterns do I have when I encounter challenging things? (For example: do you immediately start researching how to tackle a new challenge or do you try and avoid things you don’t know how to do?)
  3. When was the last time I tried something new? If you can’t remember, it’s time to make some changes!

And, you don’t have to start with something huge like going back to school. Want to learn something new? Start small—pick up a library book, download a podcast, or check your local community center to see if there is a class available. 

Keep taking those tiny steps, and before long you’ll have discovered the secret of a growth mindset—small steps can add up to big changes!

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How Working In Your “Zone of Genius“ Makes Work More Enjoyable

how working in your zone of genius makes work more enjoyable | jscreative.ca

What’s your first reaction when you hear the word work? Do you feel a sense of dread and a low-level buzz of anxiety, or do you feel a sense of purpose, accomplishment, even excitement?

If you fall in the first camp, it’s definitely time to change your zone. And even if you are good at what you do and mostly enjoy it, changing your zone could make work an even more fulfilling experience.

According to Gay Hendrix, author of The Big Leap, there are four zones we function in: 

  1. The Zone of Incompetence: these are things you just aren’t good at.
  2. The Zone of Competence: these are things you can do, but aren’t something you are great at.
  3. The Zone of Excellence: this is where most people who enjoy work land. People in their zone of excellence are doing things they are really good at, are comfortable doing, and often can earn a really good living doing.
  4. The Zone of Genius: Someone in their Zone of Genius feels like they are exactly where they are meant to be. When they are working in this zone, they lose track of time, feel alive, feel the most like themselves. It’s the thing that they are uniquely and naturally talented at. 

People often get stuck in their Zone of Excellence, which makes sense: it’s full of things they are really good at. But eventually, people get bored in this zone. They aren’t doing the thing that makes them feel alive, the thing they were created to do. When someone can transition to their Zone of Genius—even for a small part of the day—it transforms things. Work goes from a dreaded “must-do” to an enjoyable activity. Creativity, ideas, and energy are unlocked. Lives are changed.

So: how do you figure out your Zone of Genius?

  1. Make a list of things you are good at
  2. Go through the list and highlight the items that you most look forward to, the ones that make you feel “in the zone”
  3. Look through the highlighted items for patterns. What do they have in common? 
  4. Start paying attention to how you feel when you do these tasks. What deserves to make it on a new list: Zone of Genius
  5. Think about how you can integrate items on your Zone of Genius list into your daily work. If it’s not possible in your current work situation, consider starting (or rekindling) a passion project instead. Even a few minutes a day dedicated to doing something in your Zone of Genius can make an impact.

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The Necessity of Creative Constraints

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to take on a project where the sky’s the limit? No budget, no timeline, no logistical factors to worry about. You could do anything! And while it’s fun to dream big, the reality is that taking away all of those constraints might not help your creativity as much as you think. 

Constraints and limits don’t hurt our creativity—they actually help it. 

With no limits, it’s too tempting to take the easiest way out or to imitate something that’s been done before. But when we work within boundaries, we’re forced to get creative and think outside the box. We’re challenged to stretch our imaginations, to come up with workarounds, and find new ways of thinking. 

Sometimes, constraints are what we need to get the project done in the first place. Most of us have had the experience of pushing something off until right before the deadline, feeling like we have all the time in the world to get to it. But then when time is almost up, we get to work—and are incredibly productive and creative in just a small amount of time, getting more done in the last few hours than we did in all the days (or weeks) leading up to the deadline. The freedom of having all the time in the world means we feel no urgency–the time limit pushes us to actually do the work.

Limits force us to think of new ideas. If you’ve ever participated in a low ropes course as part of a team-building exercise, you can probably think back and remember the facilitator telling you the limits. For example, your group might be on one side of a spiderweb-shaped rope. Your goal: to get everyone through the spiderweb. Easy enough—everyone can just crawl through, right? But then you hear the rest of the instructions: if anyone touches the ropes, you have to start over. And—each opening in the spiderweb can only be used once. Once your group has learned the constraints, the creative ideas start flowing. 

How many companies said they couldn’t make remote work a reality for their workforce—until a pandemic hit, and coming into the office as usual wasn’t an option anymore? 

Innovation happens within the framework of constraints. 

If you are feeling stuck on a project, consider adding some limitations to jump-start your creativity. Set a timer for ten minutes and write down as many ideas as you can in that time period. Find three random objects around your house and challenge yourself to incorporate them into your project. Think of a rule that would make things more difficult, and spend twenty minutes thinking of ways to get around it. You might not solve all your problems by adding limitations, but you will unlock your creativity—which might be exactly what you need!

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4 Truths About Those Ideas You Don’t Act On

Do you have half-full notebooks or Google docs full of ideas gathering dust? Don’t be discouraged: not every idea is meant to be acted on. Brainstorming is valuable, whether or not you end up acting on all of the ideas, because creativity begets creativity. The more ideas you come up with, the better chance you’ll land on one (or more) that will work for you! 

It can be hard to determine which ideas to act on and which to leave for someone else. Here are a few reasons it’s okay to leave an idea alone.

Three reasons you shouldn’t act on an idea:

ONE // The idea requires more than you have to give right now. Knowing your capacity will help prevent you from getting overwhelmed. If you love an idea, but the thought of all the work it will take to make it happen fills you with a sense of dread instead of a feeling of anticipation—pay attention. This might be a sign that you are close to the limits of the capacity you have to give right now.

TWO // You’ve had an even better idea! It might be a brilliant idea: that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the idea for you. If you’ve thought of something incredible, but you know that it doesn’t fit your skill set, it’s okay to let that idea go—or to pass it on to someone else who does have the needed skill set.

THREE // Some ideas need a long time to germinate. A seed of an idea planted now may need time to grow before it’s time for you to act on it. If an idea isn’t right for this moment, that doesn’t mean it won’t come back to you later, at a better time. Allow space to see what takes root and what blows away on the wind.


And, one reason you should act on an idea:

Don’t let fear hold you back. Sometimes we have THE idea and we know it—but we are too paralyzed by fear to move forward. Ask yourself what’s holding you back. Be brutally honest: journal or mind-map the details of your idea and write down all your fears. Then talk yourself through them—and run with your big idea! 


Before you toss your ideas aside, ask yourself these four questions:

  • Do I have the capacity?
  • Is this my skill set?
  • Does this idea need time to grow?
  • Is fear holding me back? 

Your answers will help you determine which ideas to let go of and which to move forward with.

And when you are feeling stuck and looking for a new idea? Flip back through those notebooks and scroll through those Google docs—maybe you’ll stumble back across an idea that wasn’t right then, but is perfect right now.

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5 Creative Ways to Monetize Your Passion

Side hustles. The gig economy. It seems like everyone is talking about ways to make money doing what you love these days. If you’ve been wanting to try and see if you, too, can make money off your passions, read on for 5 creative ideas!

Make a product: If you love to make things, consider selling them. Bake cupcakes, hand-pour candles, make small batch soap, or start painting–there are thousands of options! Think of ways you can put a little twist on your product to make it stand out from others: maybe each bar of soap has a prize inside or instead of painting on canvas you are painting tote bags or the covers of journals. Once you’ve determined your product and your creative twist,  start an Etsy shop or look around your town for somewhere where you can rent a booth or participate in pop-up markets.

Share your expertise: What are you an expert in? Do you keep up with all the latest social media trends? Are you a stickler for grammar? Or is organizing closets and garages your idea of a perfect Saturday? These are all things people will pay you to do for them! You can use sites like Upwork or Fiverr to find virtual jobs, or local Facebook groups or NextDoor to find in-person opportunities.

Create content: It isn’t the fastest way to make money, but it can be lucrative for those who are able to find and connect with an audience. Consider starting a blog, podcast, or a YouTube channel to try out earning with advertising revenue. Or, if you have content you think people will pay directly for, perhaps setting up a Patreon account or creating a course to sell is the way to go. 

Print on Demand: If you love graphic design or art, but don’t want to deal with the hassle of an inventory-based business, consider uploading your designs to print-on-demand sites like Society 6 or Spoonflower. Your cut may be smaller than if you were handling the whole process, but once you get your art uploaded, it can be a relatively passive income stream.

Flip Items: If you can spend hours hunting for treasures at estate sales, yard sales, and thrift stores, consider flipping items. If you have a good eye for finding diamonds in the rough, you might be able to make some money turning one person’s trash into someone else’s treasure. Utilize Facebook’s Buy-Sell-Trade groups or Marketplace, apps like Poshmark, or if finding vintage knickknacks is your specialty, consider renting space in your local antique store. 


Don’t be discouraged if you don’t start making money right away; it can take time to build up a business. But with a little hard work and imagination, you can move some of your favorite activities from hobby to money-making venture. 

Do you have an experience monetizing your passions? If you have creative money-making tips or ideas of your own, drop them in the comments!

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How to Deal With Conflicting Advice Online

Have you ever gone searching for advice on the internet? You find a great article or blog post, read it enthusiastically, taking note of all you need to do. Then… you click to another post you’d bookmarked. When you start reading, you realize that the advice is exactly the opposite of what you just read. 

What to do?

First—do a gut check. Does one set of advice resonate with you more strongly? If you have an “off” feeling about what you are being told to do, there’s a reason… trust your instinct. There is lots of great information online… but there are also a lot of people out there trying to scam you, seeing if they can make a “get rich quick” scheme work for them, or just spreading misinformation. Pay attention to whose advice you are trusting and how it makes you feel. 

Second—remember that you are a unique individual. The exact way someone else does things probably isn’t going to be the exact best way for you to work. It’s okay to mix and match advice. Following someone else’s path isn’t the key to your success. Discern which advice is going to work for you and your lifestyle. If you are waking up with young kids throughout the night, an early morning power work session might not work for you—no matter how easy that blogger or influencer makes it look. 

Finally—trial and error is okay! It’s a great way to learn. If you see something you get really excited about, and try it out only to realize it’s not for you… no problem. Consider it a learning experience and move on to the next thing. 

Assess. 

Mix and match. 

Try and see. Before long you’ll be ready to give your own advice on the internet—just remember that it won’t be the right advice for everyone!

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Top 5 Books for Multi-Passionate Creatives

Do you have stacks of books waiting to be read piled around your home? Do your stacks range wildly in subject because there are so many different things you are interested in and want to learn about? Books are a great way to expand your horizons but it’s not uncommon for multi-passionate creatives to get overwhelmed by their many interests, ideas, and passions. 

If you are an overwhelmed creative, consider moving these five books to the top of your TBR pile. Written by authors who understand multi-passionate personalities, these books will give you better insight into your personality type, as well as advice and inspiration from authors who are a little further along in their journey.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.

THE RENAISSANCE SOUL by Margaret Lobenstine

Subtitled “Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One” this book defines a Renaissance Soul as someone who is constantly seeking new challenges and has expressed interest in a wide variety of areas. In other words: a multi-passionate creative! Packed full of tips, you’ll get fresh advice for those who don’t do well with standard time-management advice and career ideas to help you discover your own unique path. Plus, there are exercises to help you learn to narrow your focus and give higher quality attention to your current top interests. This book lives up to its promise to help you design a life you love!

REFUSE TO CHOOSE by Barbara Sher

Barbara Sher coined the term “Scanners”–a personality type of people who want to do it all and have trouble focusing on just one thing at a time. In this book, she walks through the nine different types of scanners, devoting a chapter to each type. The book also includes career ideas for each scanner type and practical tips and tools to help you explore your interests. If you need validation that it’s okay to have multiple interests and feel like you could use an instruction manual to live your life the way you want, this thought-provoking book should be your next read!

HOW TO BE EVERYTHING by Emilie Wapnick

Subtitled “A guide for those who (still) don’t know what they want to be when they grow up,” this is the book for those who have never been able to answer the question of what, exactly, they want to do with their life. Based on the author’s TED talk, the book is full of advice and activities to help you build a framework that allows you to design your life and career around all your skills and interests. Tackling everything from dealing with insecurity to establishing a career, this book is sure to give you a boost of confidence as you pursue your unique path.

EVERYTHING IS FIGUREOUTABLE by Marie Forleo

If you are in need of a pep talk to tell you that you can figure out how to live the life you want, start reading this book immediately! Both engaging and entertaining, this book will help you shift your mindset to one of confidence. If you feel stuck, the author shares strategies to help you “retrain your brain” and get moving again. Writing prompts throughout the book will help you as you figure things out so you can start achieving your goals.

A LIFE AT WORK by Thomas Moore

This book serves as a guide to discovering your purpose and understanding how all of the work you do throughout your life shapes your journey. If you are feeling a disconnect between your job and your calling, this book will help you discover how to close that gap. If you are considering making big changes in your life, read this book first to gain perspective and find tools for uncovering what really matters to you.


Fellow multi-passionates, I’d love to know: have you read any of these? Are there any other books that should be on this list?

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Help! I’m Afraid of Failure, But I Want an Exciting Life!

You’ve got all the ideas, but instead of getting out there and putting them into action, you are stuck at your nine-to-five job that pays the bills. You spend your days dreaming about what life could be like—if only you weren’t terrified of failing. If this is you, I’ve got good news: having an exciting life doesn’t mean you have to quit your job, sell all your stuff, and pack up to start travelling the world today. A few small steps can move your daily daydream out of the dream world and into reality.

First: make a dream list. If you could do anything in the world, what would it be? Don’t think about practicality here, just write down all the ideas that come to mind. Have you always wanted to be an artist? A Rockette? A scuba diver? No idea is too crazy to write down—this is a dream list, so let yourself dream big. Don’t worry about constraints like money, time, or responsibilities. Just write down everything that sounds interesting to you. 

Hold onto your list for a week or two. Read through your list a few different times. Set aside thirty minutes dedicated to daydreaming or journaling about your list. Once you’ve spent some time thinking about these dreams, identify the one thing that keeps floating to the surface, an idea you just can’t get out of your mind.

Next, talk through that idea. Coaching would be a great place to do this. You could also ask a supportive friend to meet you for coffee to talk this over—or even have a coffee date with yourself and your journal. However you choose to do it, answer the following four questions:

  1. What is the thing I really want?
  2. What am I most scared of? 
  3. What’s the worst thing that can happen?
  4. What’s a small change I can make to turn that dream into a reality?

Here are two examples of what answering these questions might look like: 

  • I want to be an artist. I’m terrified my friends will laugh at me and I won’t be any good. The worst thing that can happen is I find out I’m not great—but I could take art classes to get better. If my friends laugh, maybe they weren’t that great of friends to begin with. I can’t quit my job today to pursue art full time, but I can take a class at the community center or buy some watercolors and find a YouTube tutorial.
  • I always wanted to be a Rockette. That’s the thing I dreamed of as a little girl. I really love to dance, but I gave it up because I was scared I would never be good enough to “make it.” Now I’m well past the window where I could have auditioned and given it a shot… but that doesn’t mean I can’t dance anymore. What if I signed up for a dance class at a local studio? It’s been twenty years since my last class and I’m out of shape. I don’t know if I’d be able to keep up. But… I could probably find a low-key class with other people who just want to dance for fun. Maybe it would help me get back in shape, maybe I’d meet a few friends. If I hate it, I don’t have to go back. And no, I wouldn’t be able to go audition for the Rockettes—but maybe I could audition for a local theater performance if I really want to be on stage. 

Once you’ve answered these questions, pick one step to take towards your dream. Write it down with a deadline or ask a friend to hold you accountable. Then celebrate when you buy the watercolors or sign up for the dance class. You are making progress on having a more exciting life! 

Finally, work on flipping your mindset. You can learn from failure. It doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to achieve your dream—it just means you have more work to do. Failure is part of the journey. The more you fail, the better you’ll get at it, and the easier it will be to pick yourself up and keep moving.  

Keep your list—once you’ve made a little progress on the first item, you might be ready to start working towards another!

An exciting life means spending time on the things you love. Taking those first steps towards your dreams can make you see everything else in your life in a new light—no packing or plane tickets required.

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5 Signs You Need to Slow Down

If you think you don’t have time to slow down—think again. It’s easy to get caught up in hustle culture and think you always need to be going, going, going. But while you might feel productive doing more, more, more, this line of thinking will hurt you in the long run. If you don’t take time to take care of yourself, relax, and recharge, you’ll end up burned out—or worse, sick and unable to chase your dreams.

Here are five signs it’s time for you to slow down:

PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS: Have you ever experienced an unexplained racing heart, nausea at the thought of your to do list, intense fatigue or insomnia? Any of these symptoms could be a sign that you need to take some time to care for yourself. Anxiety can trigger a racing heart and nausea, while fatigue and insomnia both can be signs of burnout and depression. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s time to write “call the doctor” on your to-do list. While rest and relaxation are a great starting place for resolving these issues, it’s important to get a check-up to make sure none of these symptoms are signs of a bigger problem! 

UNHEALTHY HABITS: Think about the last time you got eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, were able to get a workout in, or cooked a healthy meal. If any (or all) of these things seem like distant dreams, it’s time to pause and assess how you can rearrange your time. We’ve all heard the cliche: “Put on your own oxygen mask first.” It’s a cliche for a reason—because it’s true. If you don’t take time to prioritize your health, before long you won’t be able to fulfill your responsibilities. What changes can you make that will help you replace your unhealthy habits with healthy ones? All-nighters and junk food might get you through the next deadline, but they won’t serve you well long term.

OVERWHELM: Do you often feel overwhelmed, like you’ll never catch up or can’t even figure out where to start? If just looking at your to-do list sends a wave of panic over you, it’s a sign you need to slow down, take a deep breath, and take some time to create a plan. As Dale Carnegie said, “An hour of planning can save you ten hours of doing.” Don’t run three errands when you could run one, or waste time trying to multitask when five dedicated minutes could knock a task off your list. Instead of letting disorganization steal your time and overwhelm you, try these three simple tricks to help you move from scattered to focused. 

LESS THAN 100%: Get really honest with yourself for a minute—are you giving your best to your responsibilities (both personal and professional) or are you cutting corners because you are too over-committed? If you aren’t giving your best, it’s time to stop and think about what you may need to trim from your life. Just because you enjoyed a volunteer opportunity or social commitment five years ago doesn’t mean you need to stay committed to it for the rest of your life. You can also think about this in terms of what you could pay someone else to do: is a subscription for grocery pickup or delivery worth the amount of time you’ll get back when you don’t have to spend an hour at the store every week? Would paying a neighbourhood kid to mow the lawn give them a little extra spending money and you some much-needed time to work on your business? Find the places where you can create a little margin in your life—when you have some breathing room, you’ll be able to devote more energy and attention to the important things.

LACK OF FUN: When’s the last time you did something just because you enjoyed it? Are you constantly rushing from task to task or are you taking time to enjoy life? If you don’t have time for hobbies, friends, or other things that fulfill you outside of work, it’s time to slow down and figure out how to make space for those things. Stop and think about the last time you did something just for fun. If you can’t remember, grab your calendar right now and find some blank space. Brainstorm a list of things you’d love to do but don’t ever have time for—that art exhibit you’ve been dying to see, a long walk on your favorite trail, a night out with your friends. Pick one and write it on your calendar. Treat that time block just like you would treat an important meeting. Now look ahead and schedule another thing from your list. Life is meant to be enjoyed—if you are constantly speeding through it, you are missing beautiful moments you’ll never get back.


Slowing down doesn’t mean you are giving up on your dreams or that you’ll get less done. Taking time to care for yourself can actually boost your creativity and productivity. Go ahead, give it a try—you’ll be amazed at how much more fun life is when you have the time and energy to enjoy it! 

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