Responsiblity and Choice

Create A New Normal

=Consciously Create Your One Great Life=

weekly messages about creating your new normal

~

Judy Panek, MS, CPCC

Certified Professional Co-Active Coach

September 18,2009

Dear Creators,

Today I want to remind you - as I remind myself, about connecting actions with what is important. Acting responsibly, fulfilling commitments doesn't seem very glamorous, or exciting. It is easy to feel burdened by obligations. Yet, often these are the very things that give us the most meaning, are closest to what we value. This is the follow through, the realization of choices we have made.

• Caring for children can be exhausting, demanding every bit of patience, creativity we can muster.
• Caring for elderly parents calls for similar attention; being there for them; thinking about, anticipating what they need; having an eye for their comfort, knowing how to manage given their limitations.
• Staying with a project at work when it takes concentration, a commitment of time and attention.
• Working through conflicts in relationships; figuring out, negotiating, talking through to understand each other, finding a way to accept each other's perspectives.

Remembering what is important can ground us while we work out the day to day. It is not always easy - it can be messy. Connecting those actions consciously though can make a big difference in our attitude. Fulfilling a responsibility from a clear place of knowing that it matters, that it is a choice, that it is in harmony with who you are and your values is very different from coming from a place of doing the action from a sense of being burdened, without choice.

Consider the tasks, the responsibilities you face. Take some time to connect them with what you value. It may also point out things you have taken on that don't suit you anymore. Think about the balance you want to create around responsiblities to others and responsibilities to yourself. And - if you want greater clarity around your values, connecting, and balancing actions around them - talk to your coach.

Staying connected,

Judy