‘If only I had more time’ is surely one of the most over-used expressions in 21st century society. It seems that people are often prevented from doing things they want to do because they don’t have time.

So imagine for a moment that it were you saying ‘if only I had more time’ to do what you want to do. How much time would you need? 5 days? 5 months? 5 years? And perhaps more importantly, what would you actually do with it?

If you sit down for a few minutes and break down how much time you really have and how you actually spend it, what do you notice? Do you actually have the time to do what you want to do and live the life you want to live? Are you managing your time well? Are you spending more time on things you don’t want to do than on things you do want to do? If you really want to do what you want to do, then what is stopping you doing it? Are you really motivated to ‘find the time’? Do you want to find the time or do you just think you ‘should’? If you ‘want’ to, then you are actively making a choice. Your choice. If you think you ‘should’, then somebody or something else is making a choice for you. Which would you prefer to run your life?

Some people have jobs they don’t particularly like, places they don’t want to live in and relationships they don’t want to be in, however what if you could focus more on what you actually want as opposed to what you don’t want? What do you think you could achieve if you gave yourself permission to believe that what you want to achieve is really possible?

And what about the other primary reason or dare I say, ‘excuse’ that people use to prevent them from doing things – money? Imagine for a moment that you had all the money you needed. How much money would you actually need? £500? £500k? £500m? And again, perhaps more importantly, what would you actually do with it?

If you sit down for a few minutes and focus on literally how much money you would need and/or want to live the life that you want to be living, what do you notice? Are you managing your money well? If you really want to earn/get more money, then what is stopping you? Or could it be perhaps that you don’t want to do what needs to be done to earn/get more money? That doesn’t make you a good person. It doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you who you are. And that can only be a good thing, can’t it?

Maybe we can’t always get what we want. And maybe we can get it if we really want. Maybe it just depends if you’re a fan of the Rolling Stones or Jimmy Cliff. Either way, surely it is down to our real ‘selves’ to make the choice and decide how to live our lives. Do you believe in fate? Destiny? In someone else’s power to determine the outcome of your life? Or do you believe in your personal power to live the life that you want to and deserve to live? It may not be an easy journey. It may not be a pretty one. But it will be yours and you will have made it happen. And whatever life you have, that’s the best life to live, isn’t it?

According to my taxi driver this morning, a change is as good as a rest. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had my coffee yet, but I started wondering if that was really true. Is change really restful? What are the benefits of change?

I often find that people see change as a quite stressful experience.  Certainly initially. The unfamiliar ‘chaos’ can be hugely challenging and quite scary. Especially if it has been imposed on you ie if you have been made redundant or at the receiving end of a relationship break up.

And yet, change can also be the most exhilarating and powerful situation imaginable! The thrill of the new perspective. You can almost literally see people and your everyday life in a completely new and invigorating way. However, it got me thinking about whether the grass really is always greener.

Think about moving house. According to research, one of the most stress-inducing activities in contemporary society. I accept that many people have an aversion to moving, however a conversation with a friend made me see things differently as she absolutely loves moving and I was curious to know why.

She was telling me how when she was growing up, she would move the furniture around her room, even though with only a miniscule room, she could only move her bed to no more than 3 positions without blocking herself in. She said that she loved waking up with a different view of the world after having done it as it always emotionally and physically energised her.

As she has got older, she now moves house almost every year. The practicalities have changed and yet, she still loves the ‘buzz’ of moving. She is more than aware of the irony that the only constant in her life is the element of change, yet she would have it no other way.

Perhaps a more cynical person would say that she is commitment-phobic. Or that change for change’s sake is not ‘healthy’. All I know is that she is happy and has found something that works for her. Maybe she will find in her future that this is no longer true. I know she will deal with that if the time comes and if anything, embrace more change.

But why is change necessary? Is it necessary? Is the grass really always greener? Like most things, it depends how you see it. Or perhaps how you choose to see it. There will always be something ‘better’ elsewhere if that’s how you choose to see the world. However, is that not true for us all? Is it just how we deal with it that differs?

In hindsight maybe my friend is simply always looking for a new perspective. Or maybe she has itchy feet and is a commitmentphobe? Either way, she is happy with her life. Is that not what everybody is looking for?

So, when did you last wake up really looking forward to your day? When did you last turn your own metaphorical bed around? Maybe you like it where it is and if so, you are very lucky to love what you have. If you don’t, what’s stopping you? Someone once told me ‘if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got’.

If you love where you are at in your life, keep doing what you are doing. But if you don’t, try doing something different. If it doesn’t work, you can go back to where you were at before. And maybe the grass wasn’t greener after all. But what if it does work? You then have the choice. You can either go down the newer, ‘greener’ road or you can choose to stay where you are after having re-evaluated your situation. And what’s more, you may then get what you want. And greener grass or not, wouldn’t that be the most wonderful change of all!