Nothing Changes Unless There's a Plan

Ah, insight!  It's so exciting!  It promises a new life and new happiness! 

But here's the thing - it's temporary.  Usually.  There are a few exceptions but mostly it's temporary. 

For example, I just finished reading Cheryl Richardson's book, The Art of Extreme Self Care.  She's divided the book into twelve months with tasks to do each month.  She's actually presented me with a plan for improving my self care.  However, it's up to me to decide what I will do to improve my self care on a daily basis and then remember to actually do it.

As a life coach, I've learned that I'm not the only one who has trouble making a plan and then remembering to carry it out.  The call of my unconscious routines seduces me.  So, I post sticky notes everywhere to remind me to floss, to call friends, etc.  I set the alarm on my phone to remember to do evening meditation. 

For me, planning is not a complicated process.  I've read many, many books on the subject of planning and some of them are long and detailed.  I got lost and gave up.  So now I just brainstorm a list of possibilities and choose what seem to be the best ones.  (Brainstorming just means spitting out all the stuff that comes to mind without judging.)  Then I put the best of the possibilities on my to do list every day.

I deeply believe that simplicity works best for me and for a lot of other people too.  I also deeply believed, even before reading Cheryl's book, that taking care of myself is my first responsibility and if I do a bad job of that, nothing else is going to go well.