You can do anything. But you can't do everything...
Do you have really big dreams but also kinda feel like you just want to take a nap?
I’m right there with you…
The last few years have been quite a ride and most of us are recovering from a sustained period of instability (if we’re not still living in it).
For years, it’s been hard for people to just get through the week, let alone think about setting goals or chasing a long-held dream.
We’ve been in survival mode for a long time — often isolated, grieving and rationing toilet paper.
Our five-year plans went out the window when we couldn’t even plan for next week, and we had no choice but to suck it up, keep calm and carry on.
So that’s what we did, and you know what? I think we navigated the chaos pretty well…
But now we’re apparently on the other side of the pandemic and life has gone back to “normal”.
Whatever that means.
Yep, it’s the morning after the pandemic party, and we’re now living in the hangover. Groggy, confused and feeling like the last couple of years are all a bit of a blur…
In this new version of the world, we’re faced with a quirky paradox:
On one hand, many of us are struggling to find the motivation and energy to make big life changes when we’re bone tired and the world still seems unpredictable. We might be dealing with some residual stress and exhaustion from the years we spent in fight or flight mode, so it doesn’t take much to set us off or wear us out.
But at the same time, the uncertainty and hugeness of the pandemic has caused many of us to reflect and reevaluate our lives through an entirely new lens.
What feels more important now? The goals? The grind? The hustle? The commute in a suit?
Or 8 hours solid sleep without having to set an alarm tomorrow morning?
The media is talking about the Great Resignation — employees leaving their jobs in droves to create a life with more simplicity and freedom. Companies have moved to Work From Home models en masse as employees refuse to return to the office in favour of more work-life balance.
So we’re inspired to change… but we’re also really fricking tired.
How the hell do we move forward from here?
Sleep, simplify, switch off and see where it takes you…
Since 2018, my coaching practice has been focused on helping ambitious, multi-passionate souls find their path through life and chase their big dreams. Over a 3 or 6 month coaching series, I would work with my clients to set goals and use accountability tools to keep them on track.
But lately, I’ve been finding this unfulfilling and so have my clients.
Here are a few changes I’ve observed in recent times:
1. While people still have goals, I often find them secretly longing to be less productive but they’re afraid to go down that path. Many feel like they don’t have permission to rest in a society that notoriously measures our worth by our productivity and encourages us to wear our busyness as a badge of honour.
2. People are more conscious than ever that life is short… but so are our attention spans. Brain fog is a thing and concentration has taken a big hit, so when we do set goals, we have to establish longer timeframes and gentler expectations to avoid frustration and disappointment.
3. When we set big goals, people often get overwhelmed. When that happens, we have to switch gears and focus on basic health and wellness. So even though it’s counterintuitive, I’ve found the best way to keep people moving forward is to set more objectives around rest and stress-relieving practices from the beginning (like practicing yoga, running, dancing around the house singing into a hairbrush, napping in a sunbeam or hugging a tree and wiggling your toes in the dirt.)
The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds. — The Dalai Lama
For all these reasons and more, I’m not feeling called to be the coach who motivates people to hit their goals, work to timelines, stay accountable and keep striving forward anymore.
Because honestly, right now, I feel like a lot of people would do better to just give themselves a break and lie down and take a nap.
I want to help people learn how to rest — and I mean really rest to recharge — and know they are still worthy, still enough if they are idle.
And when I say rest, I don’t just mean sleep (although that is one part of it). I mean doing things that actively help you dispel stress from your body so it doesn’t build up, fester and hold you back.
And the irony of taking that approach is that the more people rest and release their stress, the more likely they are to find the energy and motivation to keep working towards their goals…
Introducing: Life Balance Sessions
After many years working with multi-passionate people (who always have a LOT going on), I’ve learnt that there’s no one size fits all approach when it comes to coaching.
Some prefer the structure of a session at the same time every two weeks, while others need sessions more spread out, closer together or without ongoing commitment. Some clients want to connect with me on a video call so we can see each other, while others prefer a phone call so they can go for a walk at the same time, stretch their legs and get some fresh air.
I’m here to create a happy, anxiety-free “you do you” space for my clients (coaching should not be another chore to tick off the list!) so get in touch and we’ll jump on a free discovery call to chat about what might work best for you.
In our sessions we can work on:
- Creating that elusive “work-life” balance you’ve heard about in fairytales
- Scheduling time for guilt-free rest and play
- Simplifying and decluttering your life so you have more space, time and freedom to focus on what matters
- Establishing some basic wellness practices to keep your body fuelled, fit and happy
- Developing a sleep routine to make sure you’re rested
- Reducing social media and screen-time so your brain can switch off (without going full digital detox or returning to the pre-internet dark ages!)
- Setting up micro-goals and gentle accountability to keep you working towards your dreams (without burning out.)
One hour of rest is two days survival
— Eddie Jaku, The Happiest Man on Earth
Even someone as goal-driven as me, who literally wrote the book on setting goals to find your path forward in life, recognises the importance of rest in working towards the life you want.
For several years, I’ve scheduled one full day of rest for myself each week (usually Sundays) and I’ve actively minimised and simplified my life so I have less and less stuff to do, own and worry about.
Yet I’ve still managed to hit some big goals that were important to me — like publishing my first book, running my own business, living in a Tiny House on Wheels, and travelling the world non-stop for years (except during that little pandemic hiccup!)
Now I believe (contrary to everything you’ve ever heard about the hustle) that rest is the key to success.
So if you want to jump on an obligation free call to chat about your personal situation and how I might be able to help, please reach out.
Sessions are available over the magical interweb for people anywhere in the world…
Laura knows just the right questions to ask so I can tap into the answers I need from within. She also has a great way of keeping me on track but not too strict like a sergeant — just a happy medium.
She listens and understands me but doesn’t pity me and still gently pushes me forward — which I really needed. I was also able to cut the procrastination crap and just get on with it, to stop making excuses and projecting things so far into the future that I don’t get on with the things in front of me.
Before I worked with Laura I was so confused and paralyzed with too many decisions to make in terms of my career and general direction in life. I knew where I wanted to go but did not know where to even start.
Now I am taking a path not many people are travelling on but I finally believe I am 100% entitled and allowed to take this path. This has been liberating, enlightening, empowering and my family have said they can see I have more clarity and confidence after coaching.
I think anyone who has Laura as a coach in their life is so blessed! I know I am!
“Laura’s incredible insight gave me so much clarity and made me feel confident that I CAN do anything and everything I want to do. It was a huge A-HA moment for me.
Laura has this incredible warmth and nurturing way about her. She’s relatable and encouraging but also keeps it real. In our sessions, I felt comfortable being my authentic self and knew that I could talk about anything without judgement. I absolutely love Laura’s energy and passion for life! Her experiences and knowledge about the world and consciousness are inspiring.”
“I was lucky enough to work with Laura and experience her brilliance first-hand when I hired her to speak and facilitate a workshop at Phuket Cleanse, the number one wellness retreat in Phuket, Thailand.
She took our guests through her GPS For The Soul process, which they found incredibly helpful and the feedback we received was glowing. Much more than just inspiration and motivation, the guests were blown away by how they could apply the process to their own lives and begin to create meaningful change.
Laura’s ability to be honest, vulnerable and connect with people made this workshop all the more powerful and I would recommend her to anyone.”
Not Ready Yet?
That’s totally ok.
I believe there’s a right time for everything.
You can drop your details below if you’d like to stay in touch and if you need a little balance in your life somewhere down the road, you know where to find me.
Laura Maya is a writer, coach and culturally curious “digital nomad” who has spent over 20 years wandering slowly through almost 60 countries. She is the author of Tell Them My Name, an inspiring true story about two indigenous Nepalese farmers who travel to Paris on a quest to explore Western culture (2022, the kind press).