What’s in your toolbox?
So many times as women we feel so much pressure to do everything – volunteer in the class, bake for this party, drive to this function…
This is on top of being a mother, a daughter, a caretaker, a chauffeur, an employee, a business owner.
Ladies, there are not enough hours in the day to do it all! Period.
So quit thinking you can add one more thing, to say yes once more to something someone else needs you to do.
A few years ago I co-led a women’s group in my home with a couple of my best girls. The purpose of the group was to come together as women, encourage each other, and help one another find our “no,” and our “best yes.”
For the first couple of meetings we talked about the things we had on our agenda that we did out of obligation – those things we filled our day with because someone else asked us to. We weren’t passionate about them but we felt obligated. And we were frustrated that we’d said yes again. We put those things on a list and the only action item we had between meetings was to start saying no and to take some of those things off of our list. As a group we gave each other permission and said “it’s ok to not have to be everything for everyone.” It was empowering.
In the meetings that followed we did a gifts assessment and started to really hone in on our own skills, gifts and talents. We talked about “the cause within us” and the idea that those gifts were intended to be used in our service to others. Our purpose was tied up in those talents and a calling to serve others.
It was incredible to watch women start to explore these ideas and start to employ their “best yes.” They were filling the voids they had created in their calendars over those first few months with activity that was meaningful and for which they were created.
Shortly after that, and not a bit “coincidentally” I discovered some new tools for my own health journey – home fitness and a meaningful way to approach nutrition.
And a lightbulb went off in my head. God was using my love for fitness, my health challenges and my heart to help women in a new way.
You see, it’s very tough to talk about gifts and calling and purpose when we are uncomfortable in our own skin. When the negative self talk is the loudest voice in our head. When we look in the mirror and feel frustrated, sad or unworthy.
I recognized God had given me new ways to address my own health for a greater purpose. He gave me new tools in my toolbox to serve women better. He tied together my gifts and my passion with my heart to serve.
As a coach I now have the tools to fight my own health battle, to stay committed to my journey, and to help others do the same. It keeps me accountable to myself and to my clients.
And I have seen, month after month, as women have learned to better address their own health, they have a new outlook as they realize if they are healthier and stronger and feel better about themselves they are better able to serve those around them. They don’t need to be last on the list. In fact, they need to put their own oxygen mask on first before they can help those around them.
So for me coaching is simply another tool in my toolbox.
How can I use my tools to help you today??
How can you use your tools to serve others?
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