Many of the women who come to me for private coaching have a similar initial frustration: their job IS their life. They want more balance, which really means more life. (They’ve always got the “more work” part really well covered).I help them to rediscover their authentic self – the one who wanted a successful career AND a fulfilled life. This usually requires some degree of self exploration, rediscovery of who they would be if they weren’t tethered 24/7 to their iPhone. This week, I want to share a few of the questions I ask my clients, so you, too can dive into the exploration of what it means to have more life to YOU.3 questions to ask your authentic self:
1) Who would I be if I weren’t [insert important job title here]?” Most people don’t know. Your job has been your life for so long, you have formed an identity around your work persona, but forgotten to cultivate who YOU are, independent of your responsibilities in life.
2) What would I do in my life if money was guaranteed to flow? I’m going to guess that for most of you, the way you spend your day now wouldn’t be the same way you’d spend it if your paycheck came without you showing up to work. While you may love what you do, I’ve yet to meet someone who dreams of spending her free Saturdays doing spreadsheets. Explore what other ways you would like to be spending some of your time, then schedule time to do it.
3) What am I really interested in talking about? Many conversations outside of work contain the same pleasantries as the ones at the office. Small talk is called small talk for a reason. It doesn’t spark or ignite anything passion-filled. Get past it and talk about interests that make you interesting. If you don’t have any…that’s likely the first thing you should consider in your plan for more life in your work/life balance.
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