Are you living life in advance

As I write this, I confess, I am feeling a little demob happy, as for the first time since before the Pandemic I have had a proper full week off (save for writing my column that is!). Even though I feel very blessed to love my work, I also feel such a joy that this week my time is relatively my own, and that I can now do all the things that I’ve been meaning to do for such a long time!?

With that in mind, I had to chuckle when thinking about my week off, my list of things I wanted to achieve became longer and longer and my head got a little carried away. It was as though I had an expandable week, where the days would be far longer than usual and I could fit in so much!??

Once I realised what I was doing, my feet returned back to earth and I set my sights a little more realistically, I decided my first project would be to redecorate my bedroom! After several coffees and looking online, I had a good idea of what I wanted and it was time to hit the shops! In my mind, of course, it would all be done by tea time and I’d feel super accomplished!?

You can imagine my disappointment, when I realised that the world of DIY has now moved on and left me a little behind. Whilst in my mind’s eye, I had it all planned and in my basket, I was left frustrated that you can no longer buy most wallpapers ‘in person’, soft furnishings had to be ordered – even lamps! My bedroom wasn’t going to be completed today, in fact I would be lucky if I could sort it out within a month! I returned empty handed from my shopping expedition reflecting on how much life had changed in a relatively short period of time.??

What really struck me was how we had so easily fallen into a habit of living life in advance, gone was the spontaneity, the living in the moment, going with the flow. I now had to plan what I was going to do and hope I felt like doing it, or that life would be kind and not throw me a curve ball.???

I began to notice how we are always planning what we are ‘going to do’ whether it be this afternoon, tomorrow or even next year’. We are so busy being ‘in advance’ it is like we are in a constant race but one where there is no end, because no sooner have we got there, we are onto the next future thing that we are planning ‘in advance’. I have found a lot of this comes from a need to make sure ‘it will all be ok’, that it will ‘work out’ as we hoped; but what I find is that we rarely pause to enjoy the moment we are in because we are too busy planning, guarding against our imagined calamities of some future one.???

Over the years I have noticed that I have become less ‘in advance’ and I’ve loosened my grip on trying to make my future ‘be ok’. Whilst at times I may get sucked in, I find that when I trust it will work out and be more in this moment doing what feels right, the future has a funny habit of sorting itself out, leaving me more able to enjoy where I am, instead of worrying about where I could be.??

with love,

Andrea x

p.s if you would like to learn more about how understanding your state of mind can impact the success of your professional career or business, let’s have a chat. To find a time to suit you?click here.

Andrea Morrison is a Transformational Business Coach, Tedx Speaker, Writer and Columnist for The Yorkshire Post. Find out more about her forthcoming events and programmes on her website:?www.andreamorrison.co.uk