Would You Let Go of Your Work if Time Were Limited?
An important contemplation at this time of year
Last Sunday I was sitting on a boat behind a young man in his early 20’s who obviously had cancer due to missing chunks of hair. We were on a boat in Nusa Lembongan, Bali on our way to swim with manta rays.
Whilst I’m not asking the Universe to test me, I sat there contemplating what I’d choose if my time were limited. Would I let go of my work? Travel the world with my family? Write the book I’ve not yet written?
Yes for sure I’d travel with my family to share more experiences of the world and ‘be’ with each other. That’s really the joy of travelling together. I definitely got this from my Mum.
But if I were well enough, I wouldn't let go of my work.
I had my first day of 1 on 1 coaching and group coaching sessions yesterday. Do you know how happy I was returning back to these conversations? In fact I had a conversation with someone about to go on maternity leave who is feeling grief and loss. I heard a sense of shame in her, like it was wrong for her to be feeling this. I told her about my contemplation on the boat and said ‘Is there anything wrong with loving your work so much?’.
It’s a privilege to love our work so much such that it doesn’t feel like ‘labour’.
On the boat was a man who was responsible for taking underwater photos and videos. He was Deaf and sign language’d his way communicating with us. At 9:30pm that evening we received a WhatsApp message with photos and videos of all 30 people snorkelling and swimming amongst this incredible sea life. We fully expected to pay extra for this added service, but no, they were his gift.
It’s clear he loves his work.
I facilitated the last group call for the Sacred Leaders program which completed today. Someone said ‘Today I don’t live in trauma for the first time in 60 years’, stating that this is something she wouldn’t have dreamed possible at the beginning of the year. At the start of her coaching I remember talking about having joy in our work. She told me that she’d never before considered that joy could even be a possibility in her work in corporate.
There were a lot of tears this morning on that group call. So much gratitude! Someone else, a CEO responsible for a lot of people said ‘I’ve just had the best year of my life! The less I try to conform and put plans in place, the more love and joy are able to come out.’
Joy is absent in our work when
we’re not living on-purpose (mind you, joy can be present even when we’re not living ‘on-purpose’ and instead living in ‘acceptance’)
we’re out of alignment with who we are in our authenticity
we’re striving to be ‘good enough’ because we believe we’re never good enough
we’re giving our power away to others’ opinions, judgments and leadership
we’re trying to resolve who we don’t want to be
we’re attached to who we’ve been and how we’ve done things and the tide is asking us to let go and grow
we’re attached to living in the field of predictability 👆🏼and don’t open ourselves up to the field of possibility
we’re chasing money and status and other distractions to fill the void of purpose and meaning
we’re playing safe and small
When I was contemplating what I’d do with my time if it were limited and I decided that I’d continue working as a coach, there’s one nuance I’d add to my conversations. This nuance was supported by a piece I read from my favourite poet and philosopher David Whyte. He said
“Time is not slipping through our fingers.
It is we who are slipping through the fingers of Time.”
I’d therefore urge the decision into joy. That would be the only difference and the one that compelled me to write this article.
In a 1 on 1 this morning when we were talking about ‘alignment’ being the vehicle to joy, I was asked if ‘alignment’ is something you simply intend.
Yes, and no.
Yes it’s an intention.
And it’s also an active decision.
Where are you out of integrity? What is out of integrity? Who is out of integrity?
That’s a brave inner conversation to hold and it’s not a conversation most people allow.
It’s a conversation of humility, boldness and courage.
The answers may well mean that decisions need to be made. No’s need to be said. Letting go needs to happen. Surrendering (versus control) needs to happen. Leaps into the unknown need to happen.
Leading from the faith and fire of your leadership needs to happen.
As I said, it’s a brave conversation to have and I honour all those I’ve coached and am currently coaching to choose overflowing joy as we witnessed today on the Sacred Leaders completion.
Why was I pulled to write this article today?
Most people I’m coaching are 50 years + and hold years of wisdom and experience, and also hold a lot of potential for joy, often because of its absence. If I were to use a metaphor that sums up their life stage, I’d say this is their time of harvest. It’s such a paradox when we look at the opposing variables of time, wisdom and lacking of joy.
Here’s another important nuance.
Sometimes our absence of joy is the cause of misalignments.
And sometimes the opportunity for greater joy is not because of misalignments but because we’re being asked to lead from a greater depth and breadth of leadership, and that means we must surrender again.
This level of honesty is important to have at this time of year. As we reflect and celebrate the joy we allowed in and led or didn’t allow in to lead, humility asks us to face into ourselves, to evaluate where we are currently at and what we are saying yes to in 2025…..and are we prepared to make the decisions that need to be made to move into joy or even greater joy?
I can support you in the following ways.
Explore 1 on 1 coaching by booking in a discovery call. Please reply to this email with the subject line Request for Discovery Call Time.
Be my guest at a free Masterclass ‘It’s Harvest Time’. Here I’ll be sharing with you what I know in my bones for you to move into joy or greater joy in your leadership so that you bare the fruits of your labour in 2025. Join me on Tuesday 31 December at 10am AEDT to have your most important conversation of the last day of 2024. Masterclass runs for 90 minutes. Register here.