Even in many of my quieter moments, my mind is still jumping from one thing to the next.  And if you’re anything like me, your to-do list – whether written or in your mind – is nearly a mile long.  It may be virtually impossible to achieve everything on that list, yet that doesn’t keep us from trying.

This desire to do and achieve more can definitely be admirable.  As women in business for ourselves, nothing much would get done if we didn’t have ambition, goals and discipline.  Without an inner drive pushing us forward, our lazier side would be quite content to just take it easy and we would wonder why we weren’t reaching our goals.

On the other hand, the desire to stay in motion, to do one thing, then another, then another…leaves us running around, sometimes feeling like a hamster on the proverbial treadmill, running as hard as we can to stay in the exact same spot.  We may feel like we do, do, do without really getting anywhere.

A coach once asked me, “What would it be like for you to just BE rather than feeling like you constantly have to DO?”  The question itself and subsequent conversation left me feeling quite confused.  What did she mean to just be?  How could I just be?  It took some time for this idea to make sense to me: How could I say I was living in line with my true essence if I wasn’t even taking the time to figure out what that was?  How could I say I was trying to experience true contentment and inner peace when I wasn’t really enjoying the moment but rather constantly thinking one step ahead about what I had to do next?

So now I invite all of you to take a few moments this week – even if it’s just 5-10 minutes to start – to ask yourself the following:

  1. Who am I really?  (Not what you do, but rather an honest reflection on your passions, values, strengths, areas for improvement, goals, etc.)
  2. What would it be like for me to just BE rather than feeling like I constantly have to DO?
  3. What makes me feel like I need to do, do, do to be valuable and important?

Some tips:

  1. See what thoughts come to mind once you get past the "I should be doing…" ones.  Who are you really?  What matters to you?  What are the reasons for your actions?

  2. There may be some things you do because you’ve always done them or because they used to make sense.  Be prepared to acknowledge that some of these may not fit with who you are right now.

  3. Be honest and open with yourself.  Building on our strengths and accepting and growing from our mistakes are where we learn to truly live our lives.

  4. ·Remember that this short period of time spent thinking about who you really are and what truly matters to you may allow you to work towards your goals and your day-to-day tasks with a renewed energy and sense of purpose.

  5. You are more than what you do.  You are valuable because you were born and given a unique purpose to achieve.  Nobody else can or ever will be able to contribute precisely what you were created to be and give to the world.