Breathe more!

"Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours." ~Swedish Proverb

This week has a full slate of "important" business/professional events for me. I have three presentations to prepare/present, a full schedule of team planning/organizational meetings, and whatever other surprises await.

I have recently been given the opportunity to lead the merger of three teams into one blended team. I am having to learn to evolve from scheduling time to achieve my personal contribution to the my team, to leading/coaching/guiding this blended team in transition. This process is both a time of excitement, but also anxiety for my team. I am trying to be alert to each person's evolution in this process.

My previous method of time management was to put my team member needs first and to compensate later with juggling my schedule to deliver my personal team commitments.I was so busy writing, editing, meeting, etc. that I had not allowed for time to think about breathing. To be honest, I think I took the breath for granted. But, as I started on my yoga journey, I found I no longer was comfortable compromising myself. I now know I am a better leader when I have taken care of me. Breathe more!

Monday was a day of juggling. Perhaps I had been overly optimistic in my scheduling, perhaps there were too many interruptions from unplanned events, perhaps, perhaps. Where did the day go? The office cleared for the day and there was quiet. I closed my eyes and found my breath. Previously, I would have settled in for a power work catch-up session, instead I was drawn to leave the office and for my yoga mat and breathing by 6:45PM. Breathe more!

After yoga, I returned home and intended to work on my presentations. I was greeted by my husband and pups and I decided what we all needed most was some family time. Breathe more!

Tuesday, I decided what I needed most was some AM yoga. After a morning meeting, I escaped for an hour for me. I enjoyed the change to take in a class in the day, rather than my evening routine. I headed to the office refreshed and focused, but arrived to chaos and spent the rest of the day and evening juggling and triaging. I arrived home flustered with a bit of anxiety about my pending presentations and where I stood on the preparation side. I decided I needed some meditation time, so I settled in to reconnect. Feeling much better, I proceeded with a plan and started writing. I made enough progress, that I treated myself to some reflective time to post to the Blog and research some topics of interest. Breathe more!

Today I woke early and attacked my day -- meeting, phone calls, prep, presentation one delivered, presentation two finished, meeting, coaching time and presentation three finished. I feel great, not because of the completion of the tasks, but for the inner peace of knowing that I am prepared and finished. I have been told that 90%of failures comes from two things: 1.) Not starting; or 2.) Quitting too soon.

Start breathing more...don't stop!

Namaste,
Sandee