I have been struggling lately. I have been feeling frustrated, annoyed and agitated. I feel like all the joy has been sucked out of my life. Don't get me wrong, I know that I have an amazing life. I am truly blessed with so many great relationships as well as opportunities, both personal and business. I get a lot of satisfaction from the work I do with Soul Motivation Records. But some of the other things in my life have become such a chore devoid of any real reward. I feel like I am stuck in a rut. Stuck in a cycle that I can't get out of. Things I use to love have become things that I "have" to do instead of things that I "get" to do. What happened? What changed? When did everyday life become so mundane? I've been thinking a lot about this as well as confiding in a few close friends, and I have widdled the problem down to two things I need more of in my life.
Balance
I am a workaholic and I definitely have an obsessive personality. When I get focused on something, I spend all of my time on that thing. And that's not always bad. That is how I became an accomplished musician. It took years of obsession, sitting at a piano, listening to a song over and over again, and learning it note by note. Or hours and hours of listening to great piano players and then figuring out how to play what they played. This same drive then turned into an obsession with Soul Motivation Records. I am on a mission to reach the world with a message of positivity and possibility. I want my business to thrive as well as to help other people thrive. It is my new obsession and I love it. It takes extreme focus to develop any skill, so I'm thankful that I have this quality.
But the bad part about obsession is we tend to focus all of our energy on one thing and let a whole lot of other things lack. We become unbalanced and not very well-rounded human beings. By focusing on music and business, I have let some other very important parts of my life get away from me. Mainly my physical health, my spiritual health, and my social life. I have not been spending enough time exercising or getting outside. I have not been going to church or having enough spiritual conversations with people. I have not been doing anything just for fun. I can't tell you the last time I even went out and saw a movie. And I have so many amazing people in my life that I just don't spend enough time with. This is a big part of the reason I have been so frustrated lately. My life is out of balance and the only way to fix that is to be sure to pay attention to the things that are lacking and make it a point to improve in these areas. According to Zig Ziglar's "Wheel Of Life," there are the seven areas of life we all need to be focusing on. Take a look at these seven areas and ask yourself if you truly putting enough time into all seven.
Career
Financial
Spiritual
Physical
Intellectual
Family
Social
Change
When we start to feel agitated and frustrated, this is often a sign that we need to make a change in our life. And I'm talking big change. Leap of faith change. Sink the ship change. I think we all get to a point in our lives where things get stagnant and we know we cannot continue on the same path. And the angst and frustration is God's way, or our mind's way, of telling us it is time to change. We can fight it as long as we want, but that nagging feeling will never leave until we finally make a change.
Change is hard. As much as we need it sometimes, we spend our whole life fighting it. It is way easier to continue to go to a job that you hate, then it is to go into your boss's office and quit, gather up your things, say goodbye to everyone, go home and explain what you did to your family, start searching for another job, write your resume, go to interviews, etc. The change part just sounds like so much work so we make excuses to let ourselves off the hook like "Oh my job isn't that bad," or "Nobody would ever hire me anyway." With the help of our excuses, we just accept our fate and continue down our miserable path. But what a waste of a life. If you feel the pull to make a change, you owe it to yourself and the world to see it through! Yes, change is hard, but amazing things await on the other side. You truly can be happy. You can have joy in your life. You can have a job that makes you feel fulfilled. Not only CAN you have these things but you DESERVE these things. So don't run from change, embrace it. Dream about the life you want to live and then make the changes necessary to make your dreams a reality.
You don't have to just accept that life is unfair and we are meant to be miserable. This is a lie that you or possibly those around you are telling you. If you are feeling frustrated or agitated, there is a reason. And I'd be willing to bet it is one of these two things. Take a serious look at your life. Do you have balance in your life? Is there something you really need to change but have been avoiding? Now is the time to face these things. That is exactly what I am doing and I am seeing hope. There are some big changes on the horizon for me. It is time to find some balance and to call up the courage to make some big decisions in my life. It may get a little crazy but I am ready. And I will keep you posted on all the changes as they come. I know there is a way out of this frustrating rut I have been in. And that is truly exciting! Come join me and let's break out of this rut together. Amazing things await us both!