I’ve just been adding a few appointments to the diary for next week and I was thinking that as it’s Thursday that we’re nearing the end of the week. It was then that I noticed that actually Thursday is the middle of the week (Monday to Sunday) and there is still almost half a week left of this one. It strikes me that perhaps time is the only thing we treat in this way… for example there are not many people who get half way through a drink and think that they are nearing the end of it!

It’s so easy for us to slip into the trap of living from our free time to our next free time (for most, weekend to weekend) that we forget about the moment. Work occupies so much of our lives and for the vast majority of people, there is no excitement or will to be working. I feel privileged to be doing something that I love, to the point that it no longer feels like work. So for most, there are 5 days of 7 spent dealing (and accumulating stress) with something that enables us to have 2 days that we can call our own. To me it seems as though this is a really sorry state of affairs and one that can be really helped by a shift in attitude.

I’m always banging on about how we need dreams and goals in our lives to make sense and meaning out of the work that we do and I guess that’s one way to help us to remain present and focused during the times we spend at work.  If you find yourself in this space of living from precious weekend to precious weekend, with the inconvenience of work in between then the chances are that you do not have personal goals in place to be working towards. It becomes too easy to be tired when you get home and even bring work home to the point where you have neither the time nor energy to do anything in your free time. I suppose this is what is called the daily grind!

In the absence of finding what you love to do for a living, then find what you love to do in your spare time and use your living to fund and facilitate that. I often have clients who tell me that they are in a place that they wouldn’t describe as being depressed, but they are feeling unhappy about their lives. In the vast majority of these cases, simply plugging them back into their personal goals in life, transforms how they are feeling and they are able to move forward in all aspects of their lives.

If you are living your life from weekend to weekend or day-off to day-off, then make sure you have some personal goals in place that will help you to keep upbeat and positive in the stressful times you may be experiencing.

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I was thinking recently about the day that I finished working and moved into the world of being my own boss. I can remember the feelings well: excitement, fear, uncertainty and joy. I was taking a chance on something that I really believed in and although things didn’t move in the direction I had planned, I have never had any regrets over the decision. Indeed, had that decision been avoided or not taken, then I would not be the person who I am today.

I meet a considerable amount of people in my work who are in the position of making these kinds of decisions. Time and time again, once all the research and planning is complete, it comes down to a decision based on strength of belief and a gut feeling. I have never encountered anyone who has made a decision from this place who has ever regretted it. Even if things don’t work out, the learnings and understandings that come as a result of their decision are worth so much more than if they had chosen to do nothing.

Time and time again, people overcome their fears and step into the unknown and flourish. The people who don’t take chances very often find themselves looking back and wondering what might have been. For me that decision was one of the major points in my life and if I do catch myself looking back, it’s in joy and gratitude that I made that decision.

I’m certainly not encouraging impulsive or rash decisions; if you’re in this position then it’s usually a great idea to get some help - obviously I’m going to recommend life coaching now, but there are many ways of getting help and exploring these ideas. The people around you are often a great resource, although sometimes they are a little biased or protective because they care and do not want to see you fail or be hurt.

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