Embrace Detours

Many people are familiar with the brand Life is Good, it is one of my favorites for comfort but mostly for their wonderful logos and smile inducing sayings.  Today I saw a tee shirt that said, "Embrace Detours"
How wonderful is that!
Often we tend to see any deviation from the initial plan as a negative, however I am sure many of you have experienced some wonderful things because something outside your plans occurred.
I know I have many times over.
Sometimes in simple ways such as when on a car journey and I saw a sign pointing to a historical landmark or place of interest that was off my current route.
Other times its been a workshop I'm leading that clearly needs to go in a different direction than the one that was scheduled.  The planned topic isn't needed but an offshoot is, so as long as I feel competent to do so and we ensure the original learning has taken place off we go!


I have met people, received opportunities, and had wonderful experiences by following an unplanned route.


I recognize that sometimes detours are time consuming and fruitless but some can be excellent opportunity creating excursions.


Overall I believe in embracing detours and not allowing them to ruin your day.
Give it a try!

What is truly important

Much has been said and written about keeping your focus on what is truly important and keeping perspective in life; I personally love the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff books which to me are all about perspective and offer wonderful anecdotes. If you have not read any of them I highly recommend picking one up and having a quick read!

Still many of my clients, friends and family members often come to me emotionally frustrated over non-essential things.  I allow myself to become frustrated by unimportant things too, it is human nature to get caught up in the moment and forget the hierarchy of one's life.

There is to me no magic secret to keeping perspective other than developing an awareness and consciousness of your emotions and also being able to sort out that which is truly important and that which is not.

If you find yourself spread too thin, not enjoying time with the people you love, allowing work to destroy your personal life or allowing problems in a hobby or avocation to consume too much time or produce too much stress, it is time to evaluate.

Take stock.

Is it worth losing sleep over?

Are your relationships suffering due to your inability to be present, in the moment and not bringing oodles of baggage?

What do you value most? Are you devoting your best energy to that which you value most?

Is that thing that is ruining your every waking moment worth that much energy? Does it deserve that much status?

These are just some of the questions to ask yourself. 

If you find that on your own you are unable to sort through the various things on your plate to your satisfaction you might sit down with a good friend or your partner or a personal coach to help you minimize the drains on your time and energy.

I cannot recommend it strongly enough - now is the time to figure out what you can eliminate from your daily worries so that you can enjoy life to a much greater extent.