Not Enough Time? Start with Big Rocks, Not More To-Dos
It’s hard to focus on your dreams when you feel like you’re running out of time. Let’s face it, life gets busy, and all the little things seem to take up our most productive times. We sit down at the end of the day exhausted and not wanting to think about another thing!
A lot of people let those little things overwhelm them and never seem to get the time to work on those things that are most important to them. This is because we all have a tendency to focus on the here and now without taking what we say is important into consideration.
When you’re just moving from one task to another, trying to put out fires, eventually the whole place will burn down. But when you can let some fires burn and focus on the truly important areas, you start to gain control and can snuff out those other fires just by controlling the perimeter.
Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, put forth the idea of focusing on your Big Rocks and allowing all the little rocks to fall into place. This has been revised down by many successful folks into focusing on your Three Big Rocks.
The Power of the Three Big Rocks
Choosing only THREE major things to focus on each year gives you the focus and confidence to make decisions on what to include in life and what not to include. It’s easier to say NO to that shiny object when you know it falls outside of your focal points, even if it’s a really cool thing. You can keep it in the “maybe next year” pile and continue moving forward with your current focus.
I have found that, in order to have some semblance of balance in your life, there are three areas in which you need to have a BIG Rock. Your:
- Personal Life: Family, Friends, Home, Vacations
- Professional Life: Work, Career, Business
- Purely YOU Life: Internal thoughts, Desires, BIG Dreams
The Personal and Professional areas balance each other out (it’s hard to have one without the other 😉) but they also are there to serve Purely YOU… those dreams and aspirations beyond your family, friends, and workplace.
Understanding the Purely YOU Life
There are things that interest you that none of those people or places really know or understand. We all have them. They could be the hobbies that you do in your spare time, the interests you spend time researching just for the fun of it, or (most likely) that little voice or idea that you never let anyone know about and keep safe within because you fear what others would say.
If you’re lucky, you’re already participating, in some fashion or another, in that Purely You space, which means you’re giving your BIG Dream some attention. But if you’re like 95% of the world (totally made-up statistic by the way 😝), you’re hiding your desires. You’re so caught up in making sure your home and work life are secure and stable, taking care of the kids, and ensuring all is right with the world around you, that you are neglecting what you REALLY want to be doing.
Revealing the Secret Dream
The fact is, if you’re here you’re searching. And if you have time to search, your home and work life are probably stable enough for you to start turning your focus inward…toward what you really want in life. It might also be time to reveal that inner secret dream to someone who is trustworthy and encouraging.
In her article, Exposing the hidden world of secrets (American Psychological Association, Vol. 51, No. 6, 2020), author Kirsten Weir stated that in a study by social psychologist Michael Slepian, PhD and doctoral student Edythe Moulton-Tetlock, “[they] found that confiding a secret predicted improved well-being, both because the participant received social support and because the act of revealing the secret seemed to minimize the amount of time the person spent thinking about it (Social Psychological and Personality Science, Vol. 10, No. 4, 2019).”*
This goes to show that sharing your inner secrets and desires with someone who understands and really wants to see you succeed in YOUR chosen life, with no other agenda, will make you feel better, happier, and clear your mind.
If you’re ready to put your Purely YOU BIG Dream in motion, "The BIG Dream Visualization" guided meditation will help you uncover that dream you’ve been hiding, nurture it into clarity, and give it the space to grow. This isn’t just another exercise, it’s the moment you give yourself permission to finally want what you want. Let’s make space for your BIG Dream today.