Inner Simplicity For Type A's

The other day Blake and I went down to the Goodwill store and I found a book by one of my favorite authors, Elaine St. James. The book is Inner Simplicity. There was an essay about deciding what you want to focus on when you simplify, and it really made me think. My problem has always been anxiety and worry. Masking it with business is how I have always coped. Culling activity seemed to be making me more anxious. In this frustration and anger with myself I realized that I needed to do the exercise of finding what is most important to me. And to focus on and look at it often as to say no when appropriate and yes when it benefits my goals.
My top choices are:
Spirituality (my relationship with God)
Family
Health
Work
Personal Finances
Volunteer Work

Now that could really be a lot of busy work so I defined what each one meant to me. Don't worry I will not bore you. This exercise was very helpful to me in seeing what I needed to focus my time on. Reading a book could be in the Health category as well as any of the others depending on the book, maybe its a fun book for emotional health (relaxing). Now stay with me, this is for the type A's out there. If you think this is crazy talk you probably are not type A.
Also taking nightly walks with Blake is family and health. This all helps me when I become anxious and worry that I am wasting time on things that don't matter I can put it in perspective to keep me on track and balanced.
Taking time to reflect and ponder is so crucial, but to much time to a type A can be overwhelming. My sabbatical for teaching was a blessing as I started to miss it very much after two months. My fear was I would't miss it and I would lose it. However I was ready to face that if need be.
I hope that you can find time to make your list of the most important things in your life and define what that means to you. Having a purpose in life makes it worth living.

Blessings,
Courtney

1. Sleep in at least once a week.
2. Get 15 mins of sunshine a day
3. Get exercise everyday: A little goes a long way
4. Eat right.
5. Drink plenty of water.
6. Take your vitamins, be sure to include a B complex and fish oil for emotional health.
7. Just be; In prayer, observation, meditation each day for as long as you can. Ask yourself "Am I still breathing" and monitor a few breaths. Even a minute or two is helpful.
8. Have sometime alone, if you have to lock yourself in your room: I have four kids, sometimes I lock myself in the bathroom.
9. Create joy in your life :The above mentioned list comes in handy here.
10. Take time for friends.