Day 15 More with Less—Living in the Flow

Photo by Jared Erondu on Unsplash

Today’s Meditation

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“May what I do, flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.” —Rainer Maria Rilke

Imagine a flow of energy in your day coming through and around, surrounding you, getting the results you want, generating important ideas, those few things, that are most precious to us. Identifying what matters most to us and adding that richness to our lives.

If you were to focus on those things, you might be surprised, as many are, that 80 percent of what we have comes from only 20 percent of what we do. It’s called the 80/20 principle. This means that 80 percent of your happiness, the things that matter to you most, comes from 20 percent of what you do. And to use this knowledge to your advantage can give you “less for more,” with focus, and with focus, you can create “more with less.”

What’s important

Using less energy, sweat and worry to create the things that matter, the important aspects of our lives.

“It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.” —Warren Buffett

When you think of our hectic, modern-day lives, we often hear and feel, that instead of working to live, we live to work. There has to be a balance. With self-confidence and the right life philosophy, we can achieve a more happy, relaxed, and energized teacher’s life.

“Less is more only when more [becomes]too much.”                   —Frank Lloyd Wright

Focused energy gives you freedom

Many of us worry more, not less, we are terrified of our freedom to do what we have time for. We feel like we are cheating, not working enough, just because we are now able to leave a few minutes earlier. No, you are not cheating. You are working less, and because your energy is focused, you are getting more for less.

Because you are controlling your time, your focus is on creating that time, you can now relax. It’s ok. Feel assured that you’ve started this road to happiness and that the way to keep making those improvements is to ask yourself: “What will give me a much better result for much less energy?”

Richard Koch asks these questions in his book Living the 80/20 Way:

Think of any great scientist, musician, artist, thinker, philanthropist, or business leader, [teacher of the year];

  • Do they achieve by trying to do something they find easy and natural, or by trying to do something that is hard and unnatural?
  • Do they achieve because they work hard, or because they find it easier than other people to excel in their chosen arena?
  • Do they work hard because they feel guilty, or because they identify with their work, believe in it, and love it?

After discovering the 80/20 way to live, I’m all of the above; I’m happy, relaxed, energized — writing comes naturally to me, it’s easier to excel, and I identify with my work, I believe in it and love it.

Best things in life are free

A smile is free, so are hugs. You often see people about with signs that read: “Free hugs” and yes, they are free, the people who give them out have decided to take their time and give to others.

Caring for a pet or a plant is free, appreciating life is free, displaying affection, committing a random act of kindness. Getting more with less. Think of the last time you genuinely smiled at a student, a colleague, or heaven forbid – your principal, the administrator! Has it been a while? Try it again. And if you do this daily, congratulate yourself.

“If most of my time doesn’t make me happy, how can I spend less time on these activities?” —Richard Koch

We continually talk about living in the moment. Living in the present. We do have a precious gift in today. Each moment does have its quality, our individual moment.

Annette Annechild, PhD., defines flow as an “-optimal state of consciousness- where a person feels and performs at his or her best. But it is also more than that. It is a unique state of consciousness. When you find your flow, you are able to concentrate with laser focus as your awareness and actions combine for peak performance…awareness of time and self strangely fade to the background and our senses are heightened [.]”

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Find your flow, your moments, your zone where time stands still, where you’re totally absorbed in the present. Where you are happy.

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Keep Reading the blog: Day 16 Kindness, Compassion, and the Inner Smile

©Taru Nieminen 2017   The Happy Teacher Solution