Roles & Responsibilities

Self Life Coach Series #6

Your roles & responsibilities are something one must include in “looking at our lives.” These are the roles you hold. This can be as simple as daughter, wife, mother, sister, business owner, committees, etc. These are the areas you currently contribute and serve through. Some of these roles & responsibilities are out of our control (like being a daughter, I am one.) Other roles & responsibilities are within our control like when you sign up to be president of the PTA (you chose that, not me!)

Your roles

Turn to page 13 in your workbook and simply list your roles and/or obligations with any notes by each that apply such as a committee that meets twice a month or has a big gala in June, etc. For example, this year I am going to be… (I didn’t put these in any specific order but you certainly could.)

• wife
• mother
• blogger
• instagramer
• student of blogging
• small group host
• teen girl small group
• part-time designer
• friend to Tuesday Lunch Ladies
• daughter/daughter-in-law
• makerspace volunteer
• host & friend to our bible study
• volunteer coordinator for ministry
• retreat coordinator
• friend

It is helpful to just look at “all the things” you do on a regular basis. These roles & responsibilities can fill your days and leave little room for the “big rocks” (your highest priorities.)

If you have a full time job, there may also be different roles you have at work. Try to think of the meetings or tasks you do if you are having trouble coming up with enough.

Too many roles & responsibilities

I’m betting you can easily come up with too many roles & responsibilities. Through this process of Self Life Coaching, I am hoping you can start to discern in what roles you might best focus your time and energies based on your values, priorities, or gifts & talents. After you have gone through this entire process you may even decide you need to cut a role where you are serving. I’m not advocating you rashly chop responsibilities but with caution and contemplation, some may have to be pruned so you can grow in another area.

Living out values, priorities & gifts

You may think your roles & responsibilities are just “things you do” but they are actually a bit more than that. These are the places you live out your values, priorities and gifts. Do you have a knack (gift) for organization and your kid’s school needs someone to organize their makerspace? That knack is simply not enough of a reason to add another thing to your plate. BUT if you value your public school and feel called to serve there in someway, it may be something you should do. Is this an area where the time & energy it takes ranks over something else? In other words- is this a priority for me to volunteer in this way?

I hope you are starting to see how the Self Life Coach Series’ exercises all fit together. Record your thoughts on page 14 in your workbook.

Spheres of influence

These roles & responsibilities are where you cast your influence. Through roles, you are living out your values, priorities & gifts. As you do this you can be giving your best self to “your” world. Just as easily and mindlessly, you cannot be giving your best self to “any” world. If you serve too many roles, they just simply can’t possibly all get the best of you. There is only so much time in a day. Give some time, thought & prayer (or quiet time) to the roles you have control over and whether or not anything needs to come to an end.

NEXT Self Life Coach Series #7: Dreams & Goals

PREVIOUS Self Life Coach Series #5: Life Wheel