I adore planning.
How about you?
Isn’t it fun to plan the day, a trip, a work project, a new business, and even a new life overseas.
Adventures!
I’ll tell you a secret (which you may’ve already guessed).
I’m continuously planning how to beautify my mind and to fill it with new heart-warming thoughts.
What I’ve found is turning your planning inwards is profound. Over time, it smoothly flows into what appears in your life.
That’s why my number one aim for this year (of three that I have) is directly related to my mind – improving my concentration.
It seemed to make sense that if I fill my mind with beautiful thoughts that I want them to be firmly in my heart (and not leak out)!
To focus your planning power inwards is simple.
Imagine this – let’s take it down to a very small chunk of time.
One hour
Imagine reading this email as you sip on your morning latte. You feel relaxed, smell your Diptique candle burning, take a deep breath, and give yourself a moment to contemplate.
Rather than dive into that first job of the day, you purposefully pause and think – Yay! I can make this next one hour incredible.
You do something unusual now. With a relaxed mind, you let a plan gently arise. It’s becomes visible how you can step into a loving attitude towards yourself, your job, and those affected for just this next hour.
And then you realize – Wow, it only takes a few minutes to set this up – and have a loving feeling in your heart.
If that sounds good, here are five steps to get you started.
5 Loving Steps to Planning Beautifully
1. Set a clear intention and say it from your heart (3x)
[15 seconds] To make this easy, here’s an example you can use. How wonderful to practice being loving this next hour.2. Imagine what being loving looks
[1 minute] When you’re being totally loving, how do your surroundings show up to you? Maybe clear, warm, full of light. Who do you see around you? Photos of loved ones. A sweet dog. How would you describe your appearance? Perhaps a gentle face, shoulders down, relaxed body. Keep asking yourself – how would you know you were in a loving state of mind?3. Name your biggest obstacle
[30 seconds] Check out what could take you off course to having a loving hour. Is it chatter in your head about what you saw in the news this morning? A concern about one of your family members? Absorption into the job without knowing why you’re doing it? Name at least one and decide what you’ll do if it shows up.4. See the #1 person you’re impacting
[30 seconds] For the job you’re about to do, who is the most impacted? Imagine what their experience is at this exact time. How would you want them to feel as a result of your job? Cared about. Appreciated. Noticed.5. Decide how you’ll remind yourself
[30 seconds] You could set a 15 minute timer on your phone to check in. Set out a photo in front of you. Write yourself a note and keep it next to you. A post-it on your computer.
There you go.
In less than 3 minutes, a short and simple planning practice to bring more loving energy into this next hour.
A 100% inside job totally in your control.
Amazing what you can do in an hour. Can you imagine going beyond this. Oh my.
A loving day, a loving work project, a loving trip, a loving business….
Enjoy yourself and share with a fellow planner. See how much love they can bring into an hour too.
You could even compare notes.
Peace.
Jennifer
