Day 10: Thinking Time

All my life, I have lived my dream job:

I represented some of the world’s best tennis players.

I ran professional tournaments.

And Iwas fortunate to travel to most of the major tournaments and watch world class tennis from the best seats.

However, with the birth of my second son, I realized that I had changed.

I no longer wanted to travel every second week, and watch hours and hours of matches.

Instead, I felt this urge to develop my skills and do something different, something that would add value to a wider audience and something that would make me feel fulfilled at this stage of my life.

I started a few new projects, but the truth is, I am still exploring what it is that would truly excite me.

Being homebound has given me time to take a step back and ask myself some self-reflective questions like:

• What is it I would love to do if I was guaranteed to be successful?
• What are the kind of skills I would like to acquire in the coming few years?
• How do I want to add value through my business and work?
• What impact do I want to make in the long run?

What I do now on a regular basis is find a quiet place, pick one of these questions and reflect about it for around 45 minutes.

I call this practice Thinking Time:

I use a journal and just write one bullet after the next. In the beginning, I usually have tons of ideas, and then they slow down. 

Often, breakthrough ideas happen towards the end of my session, so it’s important to persist. 

Obviously, I don’t know what your situation is but I am aware how many people struggle in these tough times.

Some of you might have lost your job.

Or your business is losing money because it can’t operate with all the ongoing restrictions.

Maybe you realize that you need to make some adjustments for the future so that you can build a career you enjoy, and that will help you weather future economic crises.

Or maybe it is a different area of your life that you want to improve.

For tomorrow’s challenge, I want you to choose one question, and then spend 45 minutes thinking about it.

Ideas could include:

• If you were guaranteed to succeed with any job or career, what would you want to do?
• What can you do to adjust your business to the current situation of social distancing?
• What kind of contributions would you be making to the world?
• How can you improve a key relationship in your life?
• How can you be a better parent?
• What would it take to make 2020 your healthiest year ever?
• What kind of adventures would you like to experience?

You might have breakthroughs in this first session, but chances are you will feel compelled to repeat this process many more times, as I do, in order to gain more clarity.

Regardless of the outcome, you will develop the skill to think deeply about things that really matter!

Day 10: Thinking Time

Schedule a time and place for tomorrow where you can sit alone, quietly for 45 minutes- let people around you know that you really need this time for yourself.

Write down a question you would like to reflect on related to how you can improve a key area of your life, like your business, career, health, marriage or relationships.

Then, during that slot, just write down bullets of all the ideas that come up.

See what you come up with!

Warm regards,

Allon

PS. You can check all the previous challenges below:

• Day 1: Your 24 hour News Diet
• Day 2: Calming the mind
• Day 3: The Transitional Routine
• Day 4: Start Moving Again!
• Day 5: Prioritize Sleep
• Day 6: Enjoy Your Food (without over-eating)
• Day 7: Deepen your dearest relationships
• Day 8: Reconnect with old friends
• Day 9: Do one act of kindness