success & life balance through wabi sabi

You set the bar high for yourself. You expect a lot and work incredibly hard to do your best by your family, your business, your community, and for yourself.

It’s secretly overwhelming. Even though you make it look effortless and people marvel at all you do, you want it to feel more effortless and fluid.   You want to reduce the friction between the competing demands on your time and energy and feel successful in all you do.

The best solutions can make everything you do feel more effortless. Here are a few deceptively simple strategies that can help you find more happiness and greater ease between the competing demands on your time and energy.

• Pause often. Take time throughout your busy day to pause.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the rush and the doing of life.  Taking even one or two deep breaths and a brief mental time out can refresh and energize you, giving you some much needed space and increased focus as you make decisions and connect with the people in your life.  I set a timer on my computer to remind me.

• Adopt a wabi sabi mindset. Wabi sabi is a principle of Japanese aesthetics and art that celebrates beauty in imperfection. It is about shifting perspective to a place of appreciation for the chaos and unpredictability of a full and rich life.  Even when the kids are sick, the laundry basket is overflowing and the deadlines are pressing – wabi sabi mind can typically be found by asking,  “What would my 80-year old self advise in this situation?” Likely she would tell you to enjoy every last messy detail of this time.

• Get support. You don’t have to do it all by yourself.  Being a budding entrepreneur or simply a woman in today’s world is a lot to take on, and support is critical to staying grounded, keeping your perspective, and making it all work.  Assemble the experts that will help you grow (think: coaches, accountants, business partners) and the assistants that can take some of the pressure off of you (think: virtual assistants and house keepers).

If you would like learn more, here are some options.

• You can read and subscribe to the blog to learn more about how I put all of this to work in my own life. Comments and questions greeted with excitement and responses, asap.

• You can sign up for my eZine,  and have articles delivered right to your inbox that cover the gamut from how to make lasting change by bringing more ease and awareness to all areas of your life, which is critical to experiencing success!

You will get a copy of my mini-manual, More Happy, Less Stress: The art of doing nothing that improves nearly everything that will introduce you to three simple practices that can help replenish your energy and find more balance and ease-filled success in all areas of your life.