Minute With Mallon: Your Soul is Catching Up!

Jul 20

Welcome to Minute with Mallon!

Something I Taught:

I was recently working with one of the top leaders in an international company. Since the beginning of the year, his world has been turned upside down after being promoted into a position that now impacts much of the planet.

Every six months, we dedicate one of our coaching sessions to reflecting on the previous six months. We discuss things like:

Biggest successes and wins
Where they want to grow over the next six months
New habits they want to create
What they haven't accomplished that they hoped to accomplish

As we talked, I realized I was sitting across from a very different person than I was six months ago.

For the first couple of months, he looked like a deer in the headlights.

Worldwide travel increased dramatically. The jet lag was relentless. New responsibilities seemed to come from every direction. It was one of those seasons where life changes faster than your mind and emotions can keep up.

But over time, I've watched him become calmer, more confident, and more settled.

During our conversation, I remembered a story he had shared with me about another promotion nearly 30 years ago. He told me that he was scared to death when he stepped into that role. Yet, over time, he grew into it and flourished.

The same thing is happening today.

That conversation reminded me of a word that I love: equanimity.

I asked him if he knew what it meant. He said he didn't.

Here's the best definition I can give you:

Equanimity = Steady peace regardless of circumstances.

What we realized together is that whenever there is massive change, there will almost always be a season of feeling emotionally unsettled, reactive, and easily disturbed by circumstances.

You will sometimes feel anxious, unsettled, irritable, and afraid.

If I had to choose one word that best captures the opposite of equanimity, it would be this:

Reactivity = Allowing external circumstances to determine your internal state.

The key is realizing that these feelings are normal at first.

The bigger key is realizing that you can work through them.

Give yourself permission to let time do its work.

And if you're in a season of major change right now, don't confuse unfamiliarity with misalignment. Sometimes your soul is simply catching up to your circumstances.

Time is our friend.

Something to Ponder:

You can have everything in life you want, if you would just help enough other people get what they want.

Zig Ziegler

Something I Learned:

I read this recently:

A budget is to your money what a schedule is to your time. It's a way to make sure that your treasure is going to the right place and not getting squandered.

John Mark Comer

For years, Sandy and I have spent 15–20 minutes at the beginning of each month reviewing our budget. We talk through upcoming expenses, make adjustments where needed, and make sure we're on the same page financially.

I can tell you from experience: it has dramatically reduced stress in our marriage.

The key is not to nickel and dime each other. If we go over by a few dollars here or there, so be it. The goal isn't perfection; it's awareness and alignment.

Most months, we're very close to our budget, and we always know where our money is going. There's something incredibly freeing about that.

If you've never sat down with your spouse and done a monthly budget meeting, give it a try. Fifteen minutes a month may not sound like much, but it can save you countless hours of worry and a lot of unnecessary stress.

If you'd like a copy of what we use that you could edit for your own needs, just reach out to me atRobert@RobertMallon.com

Happy to send it to you!