Do you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel?

I’ve been coaching people about the metaphorical hamster wheel a lot recently. Many people seem to feel like they’re on one.

There are several aspects to the experience of being on the wheel:

1. It’s going fast It’s tiring and you feel like you can’t get off

2. You don’t prioritise other things in life such as your wellbeing, friends, family and hobbies.

3. You have don’t time to reflect on why you’re on it, and where you’re actually heading

4. Actually by nature of it being a wheel, it’s actually not going anywhere (that’s certainly how it seems to feel)

It’s often the case that you’ve got deep-rooted thinking that’s keeping you on it. You probably developed the thinking that had you be on the wheel unconsciously as a child or young adult.

Thinking such as:

• I must work hard (the implicit thinking is - if I work hard, I’ll do well, I’ll be accepted, I’ll make lots of money and which will make me happy)

• I need to earn lots of money (the implicit thinking is - having material things will make me happy)

• My family needs financial security and I must provide it (the implicit thinking is - if I provide money all will be well)

• Success is important (the implicit thinking is - if I’m successful, I’m worthy in my own eyes and/or those of others)

Now I’m not suggesting that money or success is bad. But I am suggesting if you feel like you’re running your life at a crazy pace and you’re stuck on the hamster wheel, and you’re exhausted or not being the best person or leader you can be, then something’s not working for you.

This Xmas period, I invite you to get off the wheel. Make time and space for some quality thinking.

• What are you doing and why?

• What’s your purpose in life?

• Where are you going and why?

• What is a fulfilling life in every way?

• What difference do you want to make in this world (assuming we’ve only got one shot at it)?

And most importantly, I invite you to look at and question your deep-rooted thinking, to challenge your unconscious paradigms. Your thinking creates how you experience life and all the choices you make. And it’s amazing how much of that thinking, how many of those paradigms are false, farcical, conflicting, or unhelpful.

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