In her final column for Platinum, co-founder of GenM and businesswoman Heather Jackson shares some sage advice on seizing the day and making every moment count.
WORDS: HEATHER JACKSON. IMAGE: GENM.
Something that never fails to brighten my day is a bouquet of flowers. Even the grumpiest person in the world can’t deny the simple joy gained from walking into a room and noticing the bright colours and delicate floral scent of a bunch of blooms.
This might sound odd, but for years I bought myself a weekly bouquet of flowers. Every Friday at 2pm like clockwork. I remember the time because this was the point in my life when I was perhaps the most time-poor, running my business. I knew how much flowers improved my mood and wellbeing, and I also knew that if I didn’t schedule the time in for this little treat, it simply would never happen. And busy women anywhere (probably the vast majority of you reading this) will tell you that, when time and priorities are stretched thin, it often tends to be the things that bring us joy and pleasure that are the first to give.
I remember dreaming that once I didn’t have the business to worry about, I’d go to the florists whenever I wanted. On any day of the week! Imagine that?
PRIORITISING THE NOW
Some years later, that fateful time arrived and I became a free woman! I had cashed in my business and I was ready to prioritise pleasure and joy in my life! Now, I want you to guess how many bouquets of flowers I bought for myself? Yep, that’s right. None. I spent so long looking forward to a time when I’d have all the freedom in the world to do anything I wanted, but it turns out the moments of self-proclaimed freedom are just as susceptible to compromise as any other period. That’s life, I suppose.
I wonder how often we do this in our lives? Find ourselves wishing time away, looking forward to some moment when everything will just be better. ‘Once the kids are out of the house, I’ll do this… Once I’ve got the promotion at work, I’ll do that…’ I like to call this “handbag syndrome”. I’ve spent most of my life convinced I need a bigger handbag. Regardless of what stage of life I was in, I could never seem to fit everything in. It was always overflowing and never could hold all the things I needed.
And then one day I’d go buy a new bag that invariably had more room to store things and I’d be delighted. But within weeks the shiny new bag would also be overflowing and actually couldn’t quite squeeze in as many trinkets as I’d hoped. And this
