By Gwendolyn Esco Davis
When was the last time you took time out of your busy schedule, … just to THINK?
If we’re not careful, we can begin to mistake our ‘busyness’ for meaning, turning our lives into a checklist of to-dos that can occupy all the waking hours of our days and leave us breathless, with our feeling of friendships and relationships left incomplete. Busy lives can result in an abundance of acquaintances and a poverty of true friends.
Several months ago while cleaning my office, I came across an article about taking time to think – a personal retreat. It noted that many of the most powerful and successful people spend hours a week just thinking. It allows clarity to flow-in.
Have you ever been stuck on a project and when you step away from it you are renewed and have fresh ideas?
I can recall when I was in graduate school; I just could not understand a particular concept. I struggled with it for weeks. One night I was up late studying and nothing was sticking. So I went downstairs and turned on the television – it was around 2:30-3:00 in the morning. The program was a painting on canvas class. I had no interest in the subject, so I watched it.
The instructors voice was very monotone (the kind you can fall asleep to within minutes); he was explaining how the colors blend and what affect it has when using different tools. I turned off the television and sat on the patio – in silence. It seemed that within minutes my dilemma was clear. The problem I had been carrying for weeks was now crystal clear. I did nothing, but sat in silence to think – going inward.
Know that all problems or dilemmas are not solved so easily – you may need silence to think a little longer. Knowing your purpose in life can also come crystal clear only if you give yourself time to think – a personal retreat.
A retreat that will inspire you – a retreat to help motivate thought – a retreat to truly see and know your self-worth – a retreat to hear compiling stories of like-minded people who have some of the same issues in life as you – a retreat so you will value your alone time.
A sense of purpose comes from within; only we know if we have it or not. Only we are aware if something in our life makes us want to get up in the morning. As Richard J. Leider states, “You may be one of the many who has always felt inside that there is something more you were meant to do with your life, and you would be very happy to live with a purpose if only you could find it.”
There are some people who don’t like to be alone. If you don’t like to spend time with yourself, how can you expect someone else to spend time with you?
Learn to spend time with You – in silence.
Gwendolyn, owner of G. EscoDavis, LLC, is a certified life coach and business mentor. Her practice of four decades focuses on women entrepreneurs, although she also coaches men business owners. She uses a holistic/organic approach, and publishes a monthly newsletter. Call: 313-717-8988, email: gwendolyn@g-escodavis.us, or visit: http://www.g-escodavis.net for more information.
