What potentially very rewarding new way of living are you putting off because of a belief that you are way too busy?

For most of my life I was an optimist who believed the future would bring me the security and happiness I felt I was missing at any given time. I now realise this was a way of avoiding being totally present to what I needed to do in the moment. What’s more, the perpetual looking to the future prevented me from realising that my future is created by what I focus on now, in this moment.

However, it took a recent discussion with a particular group of peers to enable me to see the effects of this belief system on my life and challenge whether it continues to serve me.

I always look for a theme in the case studies, or issues, thrown up on the flipchart at the beginning of a forum. Though the case studies on this particular day were varied, the theme was retirement or, as the participants later reframed it, ‘changing the next step in the journey’.

In the belief that this topic will resonate with a good many of you, I hope you don’t mind me simply sharing the very interesting insights the participants expressed at the end of the day and how these new perceptions are impacting their lives.

• Don’t put off to the future what can be achieved in the here and now. Do the good stuff now.
• I can now retire from many of the habits and behaviours that no longer serve me.
• Happiness and security are available in the present moment and are not something ‘out there’ that will arrive in a chariot at some future date.
• Retirement is a state of mind. Ask yourself: what is it that I can let go of right now and, as a result, what can I let come rather than put off?
• Bring forward your retirement and take time out right now. Do this every hour by rewarding yourself with a few minutes to switch off.
•  Retirement is getting rid of the stuff that no longer serves me.
• Push myself to do the things I am putting off. The greatest satisfaction we can get from life is often doing the difficult tasks we put on the long finger.
• Don’t ever stop working for something, only continuously fine-tune your purpose to suit your leadership evolution.
• Being totally honest and forthright with yourself and those around you gives you great clarity and focus on what you can achieve right now.

And so, I am moved to see that the present can bring me security and happiness. I don’t necessarily need to retire – that is, stop working. To feel happy and secure it could simply be about giving up something I’m not enjoying.

As I write this, I realise it is not me who is retiring; rather, I am retiring aspects of my life that I no longer consider useful or important.

What can you let go of that will allow you the space and emotional energy to do the things you have often wished you could do if only you had the time?