From the summary of your time log, identify one hour of time you feel is over-spent; an hour you feel doesn’t lead you to that which you determined were your highest values.

From your list of determined values, find one value that was under-represented in your daily activities.

In the next week, make a commitment to replace three activities that do not lead you toward your values with an activity that leads you toward your values.

How will this realignment of priorities impact your life?

What changes will you experience?

How will the people around you react to this change? Will their reaction be favorable or unfavorable, and how might you handle this?

You will find the most growth is experienced in your top three areas of priority, based on where you spend your time and energy. Can you now see why some of the areas you expect to change aren’t changing? Is it more clear why you keep getting more of what you don’t need and not enough of what you do need?

If you have had difficulty changing something in your life, what difference will a week make when you apply time and energy to it?

Congruence between your values and your energy expenditure is highly empowering. Find out how congruent you are and can be – you may be surprised.

To attain inner peace you must actually give your life, not just your possessions. When you at last give your life – bringing into alignment your beliefs and the way you live then, and only then, can you begin to find inner peace.

– Peace Pilgrim

Tricky question. First, you must be able to put a finger on what you value most in life. Second, you must know what activities, when chunked down to daily activities, are indeed steps on the path toward fulfilling your values.

Once we hit about age 30, most people start to look at their lives and wonder “why am I here?” We begin to ponder our existence and wonder if there is some higher purpose for our lives. If we are a part of something bigger than ourselves.

It is a rare soul who knows his or her purpose. And once we discover it, even fewer are able to live their lives – day to day, moment to moment – in the fulfillment of their purpose.

How about you?
Do you know what is most important to you?
Do you know your purpose?
Are you working toward them every day?

In my last post you learned how to begin to define what you value most, based on what you are already doing in life. If you haven’t already, do this exercise before moving on.

Taking your time-tracking sheet, now it’s time to label each activity. Write one of the following terms beside that which describes the benefit you get out of each activity in which you partake:

Spiritual
That which enhances your spirit
prayer, meditation, attending worship, gardening, yoga, a leisurely bath

Mental
That which stimulates your mind
reading, puzzles, creating through art or music, cooking

Vocational
That which furthers your career
resume writing, trainings or classes, networking, researching your work

Financial
That which increases your monetary wealth
trending stocks, searching for real estate, reading/attending wealth topics, balancing the checkbook and budgeting, clipping coupons

Familial
That which builds you a stronger family
outings, dinners, game night, housekeeping, driving people around, yardwork, helping children with homework

Social
That which strengthens your community and your place within it
volunteering, sharing dinner with friends, singing in choir, online social networking

Physical
That which betters your body, making you healthier
working out, eating healthy foods, doctor visits, running, cycling, swimming, massage, acupuncture

Dead Time
Anything else
TV, video games, zoning out, mindless time online

NOTE: Classification of times is provided as an example only. You may get a different benefit from an activity than listed above. For example, depending on the person and the circumstance and topic, networking can be social, vocational, career, or even dead-time.  Working out can be physical or mental. Yoga can be spiritual or even social. And for some, the act of showering is dead-time, but for others it can be mental or even spiritual!

Also, one activity can provide multiple benefits. For example, dinner with the family can provide both physical and familial benefits. In this scenario, split the time accordingly.

Now add up the minutes you spend in each of the seven areas of life.

Where do you spend your time?
Is it where you thought?
What surprises you?

Your highest priority is NOT what you THINK it is or what you SAY it is. Your highest priority is where you spend the most of your time, right now. Not where you WANT to spend your time. Where you ARE spending your time.

Time logging is an accurate way to identify the tiny changes that will make huge differences in life direction. Once people realize how much time they spend in areas that do not lead to their highest good, energy about that activity shifts and change is easier to make.

If you compare your time log to your values and find that they ARE in alignment, congratulations! Very few people are able to make their values so much of a priority that they live them on a daily basis.

You are the kind of person people admire, respect, and see you as happy and successful. And you are likely to be so focused on your values, and present in your situations, that you don’t even notice it. Take your talents out into the world. Manifest and serve humanity with your greatest gifts.

But if you are like the rest of us, you may have found some incongruencies between your values in your time.

Up next: Prescription for Value-Gap-Itis

We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being.

- Thomas Merton

I hear it all of the time.

People hear of a book that can help them find the connection they seek to a higher source, a therapist who can help them better communicate with their child or spouse, a seminar that can help them gain financial independence, or even a diet that can help them lose weight.

Some have even researched all of the information on the seminar, bought the book, or had the free initial consultation with the therapist. Perhaps the food for the meal plan has already found a home in their kitchen and they’ve invested in the health club membership.

When asked why they aren’t reading, meeting, attending, eating, exercising, the answer is the same.

“I haven’t had time yet.”

Yet when I ask them what is most important in their lives, one of the top two things, they promise me (you guessed it) is that which would change via the book, therapist, seminar or health regiment.

Most people … maybe even you … have this kind of incongruency between what they think is important and where they choose to spend their time. Where is it happening in your life?

First, find a semi-quiet place, somewhere you can be undisturbed, even if only for five minutes. Ideally you are sitting with a piece of paper, notepad or note-card in front of you, and if your eyes can be shut, even better.

If it is too tough to find that kind of time today, try carving out your time on the train or bus to work. It can be on the treadmill, at the lunch table, at your desk, in your PARKED car, or even in the bathroom if that is currently the only place you can be undisturbed. If needed, put some music (preferably without lyrics) on your MP3 player to keep from allowing yourself to get interrupted.

Now, close your eyes and clear your mind. Focus on your breath and send your attention to the colors that appear and dance on the backs of your eyelids. Take a deep breath and ask yourself  “What is most important in my life? What do I value most?”

List the first 5-15 things that come to your head, without judging or editing. Wait a few moments before opening your eyes and writing them down. Close your eyes again and ask yourself, “Have I forgotten anything?” Write down anything else that comes to your mind.

Tuck that piece of paper away and don’t look at it until after you have completed the next step.

Now you need some kind of notebook or journal that is just the right size to carry around with you for the next 24 hours. In it you will write down everything you do, everything that takes your time, everyplace you choose to spend your energy. Do it in 30 minute increments at the most. If you want even better accuracy and can really dedicate yourself, do it in 5 minute increments.

Example

Continue to log your time for as little as 24 hours, or as much as an entire week. I guarantee you, the enlightenment will be worth the investment.

Next: Finding and filling your gaps . . .

Time Is Life. When you loaf about, your mind starts thinking about all kinds of doubts, insecurities, fears, other people’s beliefs, and worries about what’s happening and what isn’t happening. Such dead time can become an energy and confidence trap.… Any time or space not filled with high priorities become filled with low priorities, if you don’t know your high priorities, you’ll fall into the lows.
– John Demartini

We pedal along through life thinking everything is OK. Or at least we believe that everything is going to be OK. So each day we get a little more lost in our busy lives, and concentrate a little less about accomplishing something really big.

Then it happens. Something life changing occurs – usually something “bad”:

• A friend has a car accident
• A loved one has a heart attack, learns s/he has cancer, or suffers a stroke
• A relative loses his job or even files for bankruptcy
• A frustrated coworker announces s/he’s getting a divorce

Every once in a while something happens that makes you stop to think about your own life. You wonder what you would do, what changes you would make - if that same thing happened to you?

Suddenly, the thing or things that are most important to you flash before your eyes. And as you become conscious of what you value most, you also realize that you could be pursuing, encouraging, or nurturing those areas of your life so much more passionately.

And you realize that when you are not heading TOWARD your goals … your purpose… you actually are heading AWAY from them.

• What if we thought about a deeper life purpose (“am I doing what I truly want to be doing as a grownup?”) BEFORE something bad happens? Does it have to take that reality reminder to focus on our values?
• What if he started working out and eating right BEFORE he had to see that awful photo of himself, witness that alarming number on the scale, or hear that degrading, depressing comment?
• What if she spent quality time with her children, working on their homework WITHOUT having to experience a dreadful, disappointing report card?
• What if I were to really finish that mindful book on Finding your MOJO or Spiritual Capitalism?
• What if you headed toward that area of your life where you know you want to go (spiritual, mental, vocational, financial, familial, social or physical), but your values keeps taking a back burner to the every day urgencies that seem so important?

It doesn’t have to take a tragedy to find purpose. It just takes finding your Mojo.

And yet, strangely, people don’t usually care about Mojo until they have lost theirs…

What is it about human nature that we have to hurt, deeply, before we find a reason to change?

A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his conscious suffering.
G. I. Gurdjieff

You know. That guy who seems to have it all together. He has a successful job, yet hasn’t sacrificed the relationship with his wife or children while searching for his financial & career success. He always seems to be in deep thought, yet deeply present when he’s with you. His life is definitely on-track. And nobody but he himself decided what path his life is actually on.

He keeps moving forward.

Or how about that one woman who has so much going on … yet is still balanced and peaceful amidst this noisy world. While others complain about not having enough “me time” after getting their kids to all of their activities, managing the household, all the while holding down an additional job, this woman still finds time to work out, enjoy her friends, and read her favorite books. She even talks of taking long walks or baths – finding her sacred “me time” AND she seems to ENJOY carting her kids around to all of their events. Hmmm…

Male or female.
Single or married.
Kids or no kids.
Corporate climbers or business owners.
Classy or casual.
Sophisticated or simple.

These are the people who have found their mojo.

They have identified what is important to them in their lives. Most thoughts they have, actions they take, and decisions they make, lead them to the goals they have set for themselves.

Yes, these people are rare.

Sometimes you admire them.
And there are times when you despise them.

But somewhere within you, you long for their clarity. You crave their certainty. You admire their sense of direction. You are mystified by their presence. You envy their sense of purpose.

You long for their mojo.

What if you already have every bit of that mojo?

If you did, would you know where to find it? How to live it?

Stay tuned.

One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.
Tony Robbins

Vail Mojo Event

Read the full brochure here

We will facilitate an abbreviated format of the 7-month MOJO program for a very affordable price. We would love to have you come along. Also please forward this to the appropriate peers, friends & Family. The topics and exercises covered will benefit you in your career, relationships, business ownership, energy level and ultimately finances.

Vail Racquet Club

(p)970-477-3031

www.vailracquetclub.com Check out the Photo Gallery

The discounted group rates are:

1 bedroom condominium: 130.00 (2 people)

2 bedroom condominium: 175.00 (4 people)

3 bedroom condominium: 240.00 (6 people)

3 bedroom town home: 260.00 (6 people)

With Love and Gratitude,

Bill Brakemeier