A Guide to Taking Control of Your Life

Do you ever feel like a rat on a running wheel just blindly putting one foot in front of the other, just a slave to life? Life as we live it today has become so fast paced, mechanical and routine. We have limitless demands on our time and that critical ingredient of time, relatively speaking seems to be constantly running out. This hustle and bustle we live and fill our lives with today makes it more and more difficult to take some time out, relax and reconnect with ourselves, or more poignantly with our soul and with the things that really are meaningful and important to us.

It was just over 2 years ago, driving home one Thursday evening from work, fatigued and out of room, that I realised that the pace and pitch of my life had reached such a state that I had lost perspective on what was truly meaningful in my life and in fact on my own sense of identity and purpose. I questioned was it all worth it. Working as an executive in a highly pressured environment my work/ life balance had spiraled out of control to the point where my life was being controlled by and ruled by a seemingly endless list of things to do, commitments to meet and deadlines to reach.

It was on that trip home when I made the decision to take control of my life back. (As an addendum to this story, whilst going through this time in my life I went on a search for answers to what life is about, what we are meant to be striving for, what are the real achievements that we should be proud of and found this interesting article, by an Australian Biologist Jeremy Griffith) So today I want to look at some practical things that I did that helped me to take control of my life back and ultimately give me a balance in life I never thought could be achieved. I hope you find you can apply some of these to your life.

1. Stop and smell the roses. Be honest about what is going on. Has the balance in your life tipped the scales? I challenge you to ask your wife or friends, often their perspective will help us see things we may be blind to.
2. Once I “smelt the roses” this next tip is the most important thing I did. Make the decision to take control of your life back! A breakthrough moment and one that is empowering. If you don’t decide to change your behavior and what you are doing, then you won’t! Simple as that…
3. Making the changes to your life, involve the family and kids or those close to you. A few things I learnt…Get your priorities right! Be ruthless (in the nicest possible way) with your time both at home and work. In the office question what you are doing and where your time is best spent. Do you really need to be at all those meetings scheduled in my diary? Prioritize your time and delegate, trust your team and give them responsibility. You never know they might just be able to do it! In fact you’ll find that they grow and take the next step. Two other small but important things I now do at work is take my lunch break (you get more done and break your day up), and put parameters on your start and finish time. Get your weekends back. Stop working weekends and stop feeling like you should be! Don’t be a slave to the office or boss. Work your scheduled hours, and do them well, if you need to commit to additional time, do it during the week, or discuss practical solutions with your boss that suit the company and you. At home make sure every weekend you schedule in some nothing time where you just relax and spend time with the family and kids, don’t miss out on them growing up, get to know them again and enjoy having nothing on! But stick to it and respect that time as much as you do other scheduled activities. Also put some time into what is important and meaningful to you. It helps regain some perspective on your life again. Maybe get back outside in the natural world, go for a weekend drive with the family and reinvigorate your soul by going hiking through the bush, swimming in the sea or a walk along the seaside. Enjoy this beautiful world of ours!
4. Stop worrying, as Mark Twain said: “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened”, enough said!
5. Just do it.

What I have found is that I am rejuvenated and happier in myself. The “highly pressured” environment I felt was working in now seems to be less pressured… maybe perception was playing a part in shaping my reality.

I am still working with the same organization, I work fewer hours, but actually get more done, am more productive and less frantic and manic when I am there. This has not only had a positive effect on me and my home life, but also my team and workmates. We all seem to get along and work a lot better now. In fact I encourage them to get the same balance in their lives that I have achieved.

The end result is not only has my work/ life balance improved but I feel I have reconnected with those things that are most meaningful and that matter most to me in my life, my family and my friends. And lastly a benefit I didn’t see coming was that it has bought me contentment and reconnection with my inner self or soul that I would never had with if I kept blindly running like a rat on a running wheel. I feel I have taken control of my life back and have my hands well and truly on the steering wheel.

I hope that you can relate to some of this and have the courage and conviction to take on this worthwhile and nourishing a journey as I have and encourage you to share your story.
Author Bio
Sam has managed to find a balance in life. Understanding ourselves and finding deeper meaning in his life has been an extremely positive journey that he has been on for the last two years now. He has found the explanation of the human condition as described by Jeremy Griffith extremely interesting as part of this journey.