4 Ways to be More Resourceful

"The defining factor is never resources, it's resourcefulness" – Tony Robbins

The word resourcefulness has taken residence in my mind the last while so naturally it's time to give it its its own blog post to see what can be learnt about it. A resource is defined as:

"A stock or supply of money, materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by a person or organisation in order to function effectively"

My dream for this blog is for it to be a resource. The answers, explorations and suggestions are the asset and the goal is that it enables us to function more effectively in our lives. But that can't happen if it's just passively perused, if we don't engage resourcefulness, then it essentially just remains as an online diary of the stuff that runs through my mind. Which is grand to some degree, but not the real purpose here.

With #daretodoit underway, there wasn't a new blog post last week because I've been putting more value on the transformation of information into action and tying it in with an emphasis on resourcefulness. The thing is, there is so much information out there already and we can read all we like every single week but until we connect the tips into tangible action - we're just reading; a constant pursuit of more and more information and filling our minds to capacity. Which, for many of us who are overthinkers, is not ideal. 

Of course I have ideas I want to share and I will continue to do so, but from reflecting on the word resourceful, I want to connect more quality than quantity with this. If I haven't owned an idea in practice or explored it in life substantially, then it's not ready to be written about. We don't always need to be chasing. Chasing something new, something more, something else - we need to look at what we actually have and use it. As I've said before here we're all constantly learning but it's vital that we're active learners.

So it'd serve us well to become more resourceful, to not always be looking for something new and use what is already available to us. A post written a year ago still has as much value as a brand new one today, but if there's constantly new posts pushing it to the bottom of the pile, of course it becomes forgotten all too easily.

How can we be more resourceful?

1. TAKE STOCK

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" - Theodore Roosevelt

Realise what you have. Become aware of what has been given to you, what is within your grasp and what you've got to work with. Some of the resources we constantly claim to be short on are time, money, and energy but is that actually true? Or is it just how we're using these things that is the issue? We need to become aware of the stockpile of stuff that we've been collecting and sift through to the bits we can begin to utilise effectively. Awareness -> Action -> Change

2. ASK

"You get in life what you have the courage to ask for"

When we discover what we have, we need to figure out what we're going to do with it. Ask questions about what it is that you want, what is the optimal outcome, what do you want to get from this? We need to be self-honest and specific in order to use our resources to the best of our ability, to use them actively and engage with what they have to offer. Ask how we're going to implement our resources into our lives, get curious about what we can hope to learn, explore how this is going to help us. At the same time, we could also be asking - how are we using our resources now? Where is our time/money/energy/information going? Asking questions awakens our curiosity and allows us to notice where amendments could be made.

3. RESPONSIBILITY 

"It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do" - Moliere 

The more I'm learning, the more I realise how important the word responsibility is. If we refuse to take responsibility for change in our lives, then nothing is going to happen. Simple as. Likewise with our resources. If we don't take responsibility and choose to act resourcefully, we can't really complain when we remain static. Deciding to show up and take ownership over our challenges is fundamental for growth and progress. Being resourceful enables us to make decisions in a way that is beneficial for this. We learn to use our time wisely, we choose to act on that thing we resonated with in an article, we make choices that give our resources sincere and renewed value in our day to day. 

4. VALUE

"The value of life lies not in the length of days but how we make use of them"

Putting value on our resources gives us a different perspective of them. If you think about it, if you only had one hour to do what you wanted, you would ensure to use every second, yet in the 24 we have a day, do we get what we want out of them? Or do we waste hours on social media or something similar and then complain that we never have any time? When we put value in, we get value out too. Making our experience worthwhile is what this is about, be it our time, energy, money, learning, whatever it is, respecting the value it has increases its worth to us. Then we can automatically invest in quality over quantity. We recognise that putting one learning into action is more worthwhile than reading 100 articles and not actively using a single one. 

***

Being resourceful is a practice, it's akin to a muscle that we need to work in order to get it good and strong. No doubt some days it'll be easier than others, but in every occasion, it will be worth it. On any sort of journey we're on, be it recovery or just that of living, investing in our resources will give us so much return. 

What can we Dare to Do?

~ Wish it, dream it, do it ~

Just over a week ago today, our dedication to 'doing' began over on Instagram in the form of the hashtag #daretodoit 

Though, as with anything new, we might be finding now that the initial enthusiasm, intentions and ideas have piled up higher than the foundation of action managed to kick in to support their suggestions. As they come crashing down, maybe we've found ourselves a bit bewildered about why 'doing' stuff ever seemed like such an inviting idea before. All the words made so much sense, the concept was captivating yet for some reason, it hasn't quite kicked off in our day to day. 

This happens. We get motivated, we get excited and we think about the lavish list of possibilities pouring into our lives. We might even get as far as making plans and visualising everything we're going to do and how lovely it will be. But then, there comes the disappointing descent into ...nothing. 

Unfortunately, the fact is, nothing happens if nothing happens. Nothing changes if nothing changes. We need to act. We need to dare to do it. There isn't really an inbetween on this one, I'm afraid. With dare to do it, we either do it or we don't. Simples.

And I know, all too well, that these seemingly 'simple' things can actually be surprisingly frustrating. They don't ask us to know why or overly analyse anything; there's no necessity for talking our way around them or excavating a complex creation of excuses from within that provides the perfect reasons not to act. All we actually need to do is do it - which when we're used to making life difficult for ourselves, is a puzzling one to get our heads around.

Yet this really is just that simple. 

So let's get some direction. Whether we've started yet or not is the not the point. The point is what we do now, the only moment we have to hand is this one. 

Here's our resource of responsibility. If we're at a loss of what we can dare to do each day, that's okay - we can check in below and the answers will lead us to our actions.

What can we dare to do?

ACTIVITIES

What do we want to do? Would we like to try something new? How about...

Art, literature, music, film, sport? Going out for coffee? Taking ourselves out for the day? Going for a walk? Taking a photo? Learning something new? Reading a book? Buying something for ourselves or someone else? Writing a journal? Taking note of gratitude/credit/learnings? Calling someone? Going somewhere? 

THINKING

Action doesn't always have to be seen. Are there some thoughts we could act on? 

Could we begin to choose more positive ones? Could we actively remove some unhelpful thoughts/words? Could we decide to let go of certain thinking patterns? Are there some affirmations we'd like to repeat in our minds? Could we fill our minds with dreams instead of worries? Are there repetitive thoughts we'd like to replace? Would we like to start thinking about ourselves differently? 

CONQUER PROCRASTINATION

We can always learn from the things we put off! What's on our list that hasn't been ticked?

What have we got scheduled for an ongoing 'tomorrow'? What are we avoiding? What has been in the back of our minds for too long now? What do we not want to do that we could actually benefit from? What are we intentionally ignoring?

SELF CARE

Have we been tending to our needs? Are we lacking anything?

Do we need early nights? Do we need a good long shower, a hearty meal, a warm drink, social interaction, more fun? Would we like a bit more 'me time'? Could we do with treating ourselves? Have we been prioritising self care? Is there something more we could do for ourselves? Are our minds crying out for relaxation? Do our bodies need rest? Are we daring to be self caring?

FEARS

Has fear stopped us in our tracks? Are we afraid to do something? 

Are we afraid to be ourselves? Are we scared to speak up? Do we fear judgement? Are we letting fear keep us stuck? What would we like to overcome? What do we think we cannot do? What we love to do but are afraid to try? What would we do if we were not afraid?

***

Dare to do it is about living life with intent, learning to live life on purpose and moving away from merely existing towards the freedom of being fully alive, involved and owning it. We can discover how many of the above questions we can answer through our actions and we can realise just how much there is to be gained from less talk and more action.

Make a wish, take a chance, make a change

Just don't get too comfy on that seat!