The Power of the Little Things

Life is what it is and has it has its own way to remind us how powerless we actually are. The good news is that we can gain a sense of balance when we identify what brings us joy and energy. How? By asking yourself the right questions and by listening to your true inner voice.

Six months ago, life brought a difficult challenge to my door. A serious health issue had put my family in the spot. As you can imagine the daily routine was hectic between hospitals, medical meetings with doctors while the demanding business projects kept unfolding as usual.

I had to deal with way too many balls in the air, and I was feeling like a crazy joggler in a business suit. Then it hit me… I had to prioritize and clear my life from all the unnecessary clatter of obligations. That was the point where I decided to start writing down a list of the right question to help my brain clarify what I should keep as a top priority and done immediately and what it could stay on hold.

Ask the right questions and you will end up with the right answers. And opportunities. And people. And sometimes this can change your life!

How to set priorities in life

No one is born to be a superhero. Making our mental and physical health a priority helps us to stay in good shape on so many levels. It is solely our responsibility to protect our brain and body from unnecessary causes of exhaustion.

The number one step is to have a good night’s sleep and some kind of complete solitude from anything and anyone. In order to accomplish this, I let myself accept that in difficult times I need help. A lot of help. I had to teach myself how to ask for help. One step at a time!

Let’s be honest… If you really want to practice on how to let go of controlling everything and ask for help, you should better start with the little things. We are only humans and sometimes we need to change the way we do things.

All the little things will eventually guide you through a balanced life. Find what brings you joy and let it became part of your life. For me, books, music, painting, true friends, cats, swimming and traveling work like remedies for my soul.

During the years I found a magical tool. The powerful word: NO. It is by far the most valuable asset I use to dig pure joy out of the darkest corners. It has helped me to save energy for better things and for a much better life. 

Learn to say NO to the things or to the people you don’t want in your life. And life will reward you with the best presents.

Master the Art of Rejection

For many years I have been in and out of the corporate environment, building my path to complete business freedom. I learned to reject business offers in the most delicate and sophisticated way, without compromising my position in the business world.

Being able to handpick your business accounts is not an easy task, when you are working under a strict corporate structure. It’s not easy but is doable. Everything is doable!

I used one simple technique. Honesty and kindness. Rejection in the business world is a common thing, but doing without wanting to hurt the other person is not that common.

So, everytime my regional supervisor assigned me a new project, I had the time to review it and negotiate so both the company and me, could win equally. Year after year this process became a standard procedure. Rejecting accounts that were not a good fit for my skills, made me more confident to define what works best for my personal & professional development.

I learned to speak my mind and back up my arguments with solid facts & numbers. As soon as, the financial reports proved a remarkable business growth in my area ( South & Central Europe), although more new digital marketing clients were rejected, the CEO of the company showed interest to meet the person behind this.

There I was. Me having coffee with the CEO. He asked me how I was doing my selection between the potential clients. My answer was this:

“I ask the person in front of me what are his or her dreams for the future. If they seek only money then I tell them that I am not the right person to work with. If they wish to make something to improve the world for them and the next generations, then I do everything in my power to close the deal with them.”

Apparently this unorthodox method brought back great feedback from all the new clients that was translated into a huge bonus at the end of the year. Also, it was added as a standard business growth procedure for the company. Not bad, right?

Dare to create your own path in life. – Areti Vassou

Nobody has all the answers

The courage to admit that you don’t have all the answers will open new doors inside your mind and will bring new possibilities and new paths to give them a try.

Be real… Now is not the time to worry about productivity goals but about health. Do whatever you need to do to get through when things are extremely difficult. Remember that mental & physical health is way more important than anything else.

It’s fine to fail your productivity goals while you struggle to stay healthy. Stop punishing yourself for feeling anxiety or fear for what is going to happen the next day. Dare to take good care of yourself and your family. We are only humans and we are doing our very best, nobody has all the answers.