Pauses

Next Friday, May 21, I will walk across the stage to receive my Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling.  I think back to when the Lord spoke to me telling me to go back to school that February of 2008 while in prayer with a friend at my house. I started the program in Aug/Sept of that same year and…  almost three years later, I’M DONE!!! I’m so excited… I’m just tickled pink with myself.

Well one of my classmates was on Facebook complaining about how bored she was while looking for a job and it prompted me to post a status on facebook about taking advantage and embracing the pauses in our lives. Many times we go from task to task, person to person, activity to activity, without any rest in between.

I’m guilty of it myself until I started realizing that I was no good to myself or anyone else if I was only operating at 50%. I wasn’t paying attention to the signs that my body or even my spirit was telling me. I’d work through lower back pain, tense shoulders, days off, vacations, you name it. I didn’t know how to enjoy down time. I felt like I had to be ‘doing’ something ALL the time. So last week, I took a ‘pause’ and took some time to just enjoy not having any reading or assignments due. I enjoyed being done with my internship hours, so I slept in a few days and just let my mind, body, & spirit rest and re-energize and boy-oh-boy did I need it. I think my husband was wondering how long it was going to last .  But I’m back to working this week, but I am have also decided to not replace all of my time with just ‘doing’ stuff.

In between the changes, transitions, accomplishments and struggles… make sure you not only take time but MAKE time to pause, take a break, enjoy the moment, embrace the excitement and joy of the recent completed chapter in your life.

My challenge to you:

MAKE some time to REFLECT on ….

a) the journey;

b) what you have learned;

c) how you are different or the same, and

then Give thanks and appreciation to God that you made it through, whether you are transitioning from something great or a challenging struggle.

I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  No matter how good or how bad…. GIVE THANKS not only for your journey but your pauses as well!  Don’t be so quick to jump into the next chapter of your life without embracing and FULLY appreciating the chapter you’ve just completed.

Until Next Time…

Detra M. Trueheart, Your Personal Life and Empowerment Coach

P.S. Encourage your friends and family by sharing this article and invite others to subscribe to www.TrueheartSpeaks.wordpress.com

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Detra M. Trueheart is a professional speaker and life and empowerment coach. Her company, TrueheartSpeaks Enterprises, is dedicated to helping you live life IN and ON purpose. If you want to find out how you can enjoy life with more purpose, passion and power, visit www.trueheartspeaks.com.

© Copyright 2011. Detra M. Trueheart. All rights reserved.

Regrets…

Over this past weekend, I attended the funeral of my godmother who had recently been diagnosed with Dementia.  It had only been within the last two years or so that she had been diagnosed.  Things had gotten to the point where she could no longer drive herself around nor could she live in her home alone and therefore was moved into a nursing home.  I had seen her a few times but over the last few months I kept telling myself that I would do better and visit her more often since her only daughter lived out-of-town.  I never got around to seeing her before getting the call on Easter from my mom that she had passed.  I was saddened to hear of her passing even though she was in her 80′s and had lived a full life. I was also a little taken aback because I had planned on going to see her once I finished my graduate program this past weekend.  Things had gotten so hectic with school, work and life in general that I never made the time to go see her before her passing.  Although I don’t live with many regrets, since I believe that there is a lesson to be learned in every life experience, I still felt and feel a little crummy for being ‘too busy’ and not ‘making’ the time to visit her.

As I pondered over my godmother’s passing over the last week, I thought about the many people who keep saying they are going to do this or that and never get around to doing it.  I am here to tell you not to wallow  in pity or regret for too long.  You can have a moment, but that’s it.  Don’t let it be for a lifetime that it hinders you from doing the other things on your list of ‘to do’s.‘  Although I feel as though I missed the mark with my godmother I have made a decision to make the time for those things that are VERY important to me… What about you?  Will you make time for those things that bring you joy or those things that will bring you closer to your joy?  Remember that life is short and although my godmother got to live 80 great years, some of us may not get that privilege.  Tomorrow is definitely not promised.

So my challenge to you is…

1. Make a list of 2-3 things you have been putting off.  It may be having lunch or dinner with a good friend and you have been putting it off for months because you just don’t have time (or let’s say you didn’t MAKE the time).  It could be taking time for YOU.  You continue to put EVERYONE else’s needs in front of yours but neglect to take some time to re-energize and refocus for yourself.  It could be starting a business or letting something or someone go.  Whatever it is, write down those 2-3 things you should have done but have yet to do.

2. Next, write down what’s been holding you back and how you will not let those or any other obstacles keep you from doing the one or two things you NEED to be doing.  When we put things in writing, it holds us that much more accountable to doing it.  It also allows us to pursue that goal with some clarity.  You may write something down and realize that it really isn’t a priority.  Either way get to writing!

3. Make up your mind to do them and then DO IT!  Determine in your mind that these 2-3 things are just as and maybe more important than everything else you have been putting in front of them. If it is getting together with some friends, call them up and see when they are available.  Put the date on your calendar and let NOTHING but an immediate emergency keep you from it.  If it’s setting some time aside for YOU, then do it and make no apologies for it.

Now if you need help in with the ‘doing,’ as your Life Transition Coach, we may need to connect to get you moving.  It’s one thing to identify what you should be doing but it’s another thing to do it.  Sometimes there are obstacles like our own thoughts or fears that hinder us from doing what we know we should already be doing.  That’s where I come in to help break down those mental barriers that keep you from living your best life.  I’d love to work with you if you are ready to do the work.  Go to my website http://www.trueheartspeaks.com/#!coaching for more information on coaching.

Until next time…

Detra M. Trueheart, Your Personal Life and Empowerment Coach

P.S. Encourage your friends and family by sharing this article and invite others to subscribe to www.TrueheartSpeaks.wordpress.com

Want to reprint the article? Sure, please feel free to forward TrueheartWrites to friends and colleagues, but please forward in its entirety. TrueheartWrites is written and distributed by TrueheartSpeaks Enterprises.

Detra M. Trueheart is a professional speaker and life and empowerment coach. Her company, TrueheartSpeaks Enterprises, is dedicated to helping you live life IN and ON purpose. If you want to find out how you can enjoy life with more purpose, passion and power, visit www.trueheartspeaks.com.

© Copyright 2011. Detra M. Trueheart. All rights reserved.