Personal alignment is important. Because no one ever found the cold dark rain motivating.

That little, invisible push and that still, small voice got me out the door this morning as an adjustment was needed.    Seeing my chiropractor on Monday’s is an absolute must, but it got me thinking:

“Why?”

The obvious reasons were pain, discomfort, feeling crooked, and the mental adjustment that comes with it.

We all want personal alignment, through our day-to-day activities, relationships with others, or health & wellness.

Time management and making all the pieces click into place can be daunting, to say the least.

Especially if you have anxiety or depression, which can make balancing personal alignment and scheduling too much to handle.

Since I cancel/reschedule when the pressures of here and their commitments are too overwhelming, I initiate schedules that don’t stretch my time too thin.

There is overwhelming evidence that shows we must make personal alignments to ensure we do not burn out over time. First, ask yourself a few different questions:

  • What is sustainable in your own life?
  • Where can you make blackout times to avoid this inevitable crash?
  • How can you avoid cancelling and becoming un-aligned with your day-to-day?
  • When can the self be as important as the other demands and how can you make that your first priority, while caring for your balance?

My answers are like this:

What is Sustainable?

Whatever I have going on for my son, myself and my career doesn’t interfere with my son, myself and my career.  In other words, my sustainability comes from ensuring that the needs of all the above don’t interfere with each other.

I must be able to enjoy, excel and embark on each and every entity full throttle without distractions.

Where can I “blackout” times in my day-to-day?

I was encouraged to do this at several roles in my past.  It wasn’t until I became self-employed, that I understood the implications of not setting this up through timing. My experiences being self-employed also taught me the repercussions of allowing an open door policy without having restricted times in place.

Amen to this learning!  I place this timing at dinnertime (1.5hrs a night), blackout for calls and meetings daily to ensure that I have this time set aside for my son and our dinner time.  No matter what!

Avoiding Cancellations and Staying on point:

Personally, I leave time for traffic and finding parking between all my meetings.  Often I arrive at the minute because of tight deadlines.  Having a hard stop is important.  “Under promise – overachieve” …  I would rather be early than late!

When can I become as important as the other demands?

Honestly, because of the structure, you can place behind all your demands, and can become important right away!

Maybe it’s a slow start towards an hour here and there to just do you, but even in the beginning working towards this carved out time; appreciate even 5-10 minutes while alone in the car to listen to your favourite podcast or belt out your favourite hit songs.

Was reading an article the other day that gave 5 great tips on becoming more aligned:

  1. Live in the Moment
  2. Take care of your body
  3. Practice gratitude
  4. Embrace your gifts
  5. Ask for Guidance

I used to have an overfilled, ambitious schedule. In fact, that used to be my norm.  I had to let go of the things that were bringing chaos and anxiety to my life in order to take care of myself and live in the moment.

I found personal alignment when I learned that the schedule, for me, was too much.

When I shedding the pressure I’ve experienced, I embraced the things that bring me joy.

As I continue to align with this and connect deeper spiritually, I am grateful.  This is where I personally ask for guidance but I will discuss that in deeper detail at another point in time.

Living in the moment and adopting an aligned approach has not only increased my energy levels, motivation and emotional health, but it has also created a better connection with my physical self. Because I recognize my own triggers and feel my alignment slipping.

As cars need mechanics, we too need repairs and personal alignment is Monday’s top priority for the week.  That’s exactly why I’m letting the shifting begin!