Sometimes I hit the ground hard and running on a Monday Morning and by lunchtime crash down defeated. How did I get so far behind by being so productive?

Have you ever crossed three things off your list, added five more, and wondered how you managed to fall behind while being so productive? That list has a gift for growing!

A list can help us remember what needs our attention, but it cannot measure the goodness in us, the wisdom we’ve gathered, or the love we bring to the people around us. You are more than what you finish today.

At Creator-based Coaching, we believe you have light and truth within you—everything you need to grow, progress, and ultimately succeed. You have gifts you can draw on as you learn, grow, and create. Your gifts don’t disappear when the laundry waits another day. Your patience, curiosity, humor, faith, and experience are still yours. Yes, even with the laundry sitting right there.

As we move into a season of sharing our wisdom, we have an opportunity to ask a different question. Alongside “What needs to get done?” we can ask, “What would I love to create with the experience and gifts I have?”

Perhaps it’s warming up a relationship. A little room for something you enjoy. A conversation you’ve been meaning to have. Maybe it’s working with youth or teaching/attending a class. Maybe it’s kickboxing! You get to bring your personal delight and intention to this chapter of your life!

Bring your plans to your Creator. Ask what is yours to do today. Take a deep breath and slowly blow out all that prattling noise in your head- that includes all those shoulds, girlfriend. Make room to listen, receive help, and choose a next step.

Faith-fueled. Creator-led. Joy-rooted.

Every day there is room for both meaningful effort and breathing space. His mercies are new every morning.

Offer yourself the praise you deserve. You make a difference in this world. Choose the thoughts that will affirm your worth. And curate that to-do list!

1. Write about it: Separate the person from the problem. Write one situation you face. On a second line, name a quality you bring to it. What is uniquely yours to share? Write it down and take credit for it. “I have a decision to make” and “I am thoughtful and willing to learn” can both be true. Give your strengths a place on the page!

2. Choose what is yours. Ask what is really, truly yours to do today. Then choose one manageable action; it can be tiny or big. Finally, name any support that task requires. Honor a responsibility and ask for help if you need it. Both belong in a capable life. After years of being the ones who help, it feels pretty amazing to reach out and be helped. Try it. You’ll be glad you did.

3. Notice a small good. Was there a smile, something that didn’t fall on the floor, or the dog stayed in when you opened the front door? At day’s end, pause and consider again what went well.

I restarted that practice last week after writing about it, and I was sadly surprised by how negative my thoughts had inadvertently become since I stopped my old practice. It was uncomfortably important to begin again!

Write one thing that went well (I like to do three) alongside anything still difficult. Maybe you listened, asked a useful question, or enjoyed a moment that would have been easy to miss. Maybe you recognized divine help. Miracles are all around us if we open ourselves to see and appreciate them.

Remember this phrase:
My unfinished list does not get the final word!

Tuck this sentence on your phone background, a Post-it on the bathroom mirror, or your computer. Just let it be in view this week. See how you feel when you see it.

Ponder:
What is one quality in you that a to-do list cannot measure?
Seriously, keep that question nearby this week.

You have experience to draw on, light to share, and good things still to create. Let’s make room for them! Have an amazing week, my friend!

All my love,