What’s Not Serving You?
Haydan Firth
Fractional Head of People | Executive and Leadership Coach | Wellbeing Expert | Workshop Facilitator
Hello!
As we head into the last week of March, it's probably not a bad idea to reflect on how the first quarter of this year has gone.
Think about what you hoped to achieve as you set off in January, and what's been the actual outcome?
What's worked? What hasn't? And what do you need to do differently going forward?
Well there's your first task, but lets get into the main bulk of the newsletter, and I want to ask this question:
What's not serving you?
I say this in hindsight from quitting a few things like Instagram, caffeine, and alcohol.
It's only now I can look back and see how these things added so little value, and this was recently reinforced by me redownloading Instagram again to do an Instagram live with someone.
I spent some time scrolling through it after the live and thought to myself, I can’t believe how much time I've wasted scrolling through this and how little value it's actually providing.
It's safe to say I deleted it again very quickly.
I've also been thinking about this in a business sense too, considering what bits of work I'm holding onto that really aren't serving me or delivering any value.
It's so easy to get stuck in autopilot and forget to step out and review what's working and what's not.
The reality is we should be doing this in all areas of our lives, thinking about which people aren't serving us, which habits aren't serving us and which areas of our health and nutrition aren't serving us, it's honestly all worth reviewing.
A good prompt is when you come away from something and feel like it didn't work, you weren't happy with it, or it was a waste of time, to ask yourself the question what didn't serve me in this situation?
Maybe you came out of a client meeting unhappy, but the reality is you just don't enjoy working with that client.
Perhaps you delivered a poor piece of work, and the thing that's not serving you is that you're at capacity and you've taken too much work on meaning your performance is suffering.
Or maybe you've come away from an event which you feel was a complete waste of time, and this happened because you're a bit of a people pleaser and didn't want to let someone down, when you know deep down you didn't want to go anyway.
Sometimes there a deeper level to these things and it's not just a one off or an external problem.
Our time and energy are such precious commodities which is constantly under attack from people and things wanting it.
We have all got to do better at ensuring we are getting stuck into the things we need to, staying clear of the things we don't, and keeping some capacity to actually enjoy life.
I also encourage you to be less black and white and really make the most of the grey area between commitment.
This isn't about finding something that doesn't serve you and getting rid completely as that is a really big and overwhelming step.
You're better off thinking about how you can do less of the thing that doesn't serve you, taking the first step and making a longer term plan.
I am confident you can identify at least one thing that isn't serving you this week, and your task is to do something about it, no matter how big or small.
Quote for the week
“Letting go of what no longer serves you is the easiest way to change. Nothing changes until you decide you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Take the first step and the second will follow. The path unknown is easier than you may have imagined.”
- Lisa Lieberman-Wang
Recommendation
Newsletters I subscribe to
This isn't me saying you should stop reading this newsletter and start reading these instead, but these three are the ones I read religiously and believe they will add value to you if you like this one!
Chris Williamsons Modern Wisdom Newsletter
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Life Hack
Phone cleanse
We are all guilty of downloading a specific app for something that we only need to use once, but it stays on your phone for the rest of time.
If you scroll through your phone now you're guaranteed to find a handful of apps you either don't need or don't remember downloading.
Take a moment to go through and clear all that you don't need, and I challenge you to be brave and clear out some of the ones that aren't serving you!
It feels nice being organised and this will also hopefully help you in being more productive as you'll have less distractions.
How can I help you?
If you want to hear more about what I do and how you can work with me, send me a DM or email me at info@haydanfirth.com
I hope you have a fantastic week, and I'll be back in your inbox next week!
Haydan