non-negotiables

During my tantric meditation retreat in Ojai with Charu last month I made a new commitment to myself to do my meditation practice every day. In the past, I've made similar "commitments" but the difference was, they were always negotiable...

"oh, I would meditate today but it's already midnight and I'm so tired, and I have to get up at 6am to be on set tomorrow. I'll just skip a day because this is a special circumstance."

Well, we all know how that goes... three weeks later you haven't done it at all and you said you were going to do it every day!

So this time, I made the commitment to myself to do it EVERY day, even if it means doing it at 1 am because the day "got away from me."

Having this non-negotiable is teaching me an important lesson about the true limitations of my time. I cannot do it all, as much as it pains me to realize that! But through the non-negotiable, I have become aware of how much time I really have, and I can consult my list of goals to assign priorities to things that come up.

"Hey, would you like to go to this film premiere on Wednesday night?" -Yeah, I'd love to. Let me consult my list of goals for the week, see how they serve my 1-year goals and my overall career goals, and decide whether that's enough of a priority. Sometimes the answer is no.

Anyone who knows me has heard me talk about FLYlady - she says that it takes a month to form a new habit, and that you should only add one habit at a time. I couldn't agree more. I'm only 3 weeks into this new habit so I'll be adding another habit in a week when this one is solid.

Are you trying to do it all at once? Trying to be everything to everyone (and least of all, yourself?) Commit to yourself with one non-negotiable and let me know how it goes!

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"Success in LA" - multihyphenate actress-writer-producer Harmony Rebecca Jupiter thinks outside the box. If you enjoyed this column please share it, and become a follower over to the right... Here's to your success!