Later that day we went to meet my boyfriend’s great aunty, who is 87 and still fit and strong and has all her wits about her. She told us so many stories of growing up in Ponza which was lovely and it got me thinking that in our busy lives, we so rarely take the time out to just stop and connect with people in a deep and meaningful way, taking the time to find out more about them.
If we’re honest we are more concerned about us and thinking about the next thing we must do.
At the beginning of last August I had hit a wall, I was stressed out, exhausted and signed off for stress. I was burning the candle at both ends working up to 13 hour days and I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was so grumpy and anxious and I didn’t know what to do. Surely, I thought to myself there must be a better way, queue forced sign off and slow down period.
At first, I didn’t know what to do with myself and my nervous energy, I was wound up so tight and used to just pushing through. As the days passed I started to meditate every day, read, go for long walks and concentrate on myself.
I took a step back and re-evaluated what I was doing with my life and why I was so sure I could continue doing all I was doing and have a successful business. You see I have a full time 9-5 job and I work every other spare minute on my coaching business. Here I was helping everyone else and loving it but I was neglecting myself big time. I felt like such a hypocrite.
So, my other half suggested a holiday to sleepy Ponza a few weeks later and what the Italians have taught me is this
- Take time to appreciate the small things in life, life is so short and we only get to life this life once so what is the point in stressing. What is the worst that will happen if we don’t do all we want to? If you could live with the worst, then you are doing okay and it helps alleviate the fear when you think in this way.
- Connection with family and others is so important. We can’t just have goals in one area of our lives and neglect everything else. We need to have a healthy mix of goals across all areas.
- Generosity is a blessing, Italians have a lovely tradition of welcoming you in with loving arms and sharing whatever they have with you at the time.
- Be naturally open and curious, ask questions, explore life, people and cultures. People are always happy to talk about themselves and it is fascinating what you can learn if you are open to listening.
- Life is not complete without a doppio (double) Italian espresso and nutella pastry.
So lovely, what have you been neglecting in your life and what one thing will you do today to make sure you are balancing all you have to do in your crazy and beautiful life?