Meaningful Minutes
In the last 20 minutes: Where has the time gone? Can you remember what you’ve thought, felt, or done? All your desires, plans, and things you want to achieve…
In the last 20 minutes have you moved you toward these goals, achieved what you needed? Or have they drifted you away from them?
In the last 20 minutes: What was your purpose ? Have you made progress? What got in the way? Have you laughed, hugged, shared a positive story, accepted a compliment, given a compliment, been kind? Or have you felt frustrated, overwhelmed, or stuck?
Are you even aware of how you’ve spent these minutes?
Now, before you roll your eyes and think, Oh great, another ‘live your best life’ speech, hear me out. Meaningful doesn’t have to mean monumental. Sitting in your PJs eating Maltesers? Meaningful. Seeing a friend and having an honest-to-goodness conversation that pushes and pulls you, stretches you, helps you grow? Definitely meaningful.
But what if you don’t feel like you’re serving a purpose? What if you’re frazzled, running on empty, feeling that deep internal jangling from other people’s clumsy, careless words? What if you’re just exhausted?
The Moment I Was Called Out….
As a social worker, I once walked into a house to visit a family, and one of the adults looked me dead in the eye and asked: “What is the point of you?”
It stopped me in my tracks.
Because at that moment, I didn’t know.
I had become so disconnected from my purpose/role that he had ‘caught me out’ in a moment of raw self-realisation. The truth was, I wanted to say: Honestly? I’ve forgotten!
Sometimes, we lose our connection—with our jobs, our sense of purpose, our intentions. I remember feeling shame at the thought that maybe I didn’t have a purpose anymore. Maybe I had no right to be there. But looking back now, I see it for what it was: a wake-up call. I was being reminded to reconnect with my authentic self. My role was no longer aligned with who I really wanted to be at that time.
Making Every Minute Count
In the safeguarding and helping professions, we get carried away with tasks—doing, fixing, checking, firefighting. But where is the meaningful intention in all that we do? If we’re flailing between personal and professional balance, we need to reignite, restore, reprioritise, and reframe.
How Life Coaching Can Help
If any of this resonates—if you feel disconnected from your purpose, exhausted from the push and pull, or like you’re simply lost—this is where life coaching can help. Coaching isn’t about adding more to your plate. It’s about helping you refocus and realign so that what you’re already doing feels meaningful again.
Using the 4 R’s, coaching can help you:
Reignite your passion—Reconnect with why you started in the first place. Reframe your mindset—Shift your perspective to see the bigger picture. Redefine your purpose—Get clarity on what truly matters to you now. Restore balance—Create space for yourself, not just for everyone else.
So, ask yourself: How am I going to make my minutes meaningful today? Is it time to stop, refuel, and plan your journey forward? What would you like to have happen?
It’s down to you.
Thank you for sharing your time with me—I hope these have been meaningful minutes for you. Let me know in the comments!
