Are you stuck in the cycle of saying, “I don’t have time,” and wondering why your goals feel out of reach? As the new year approaches, it’s time to get honest: is it really about time, or is it about priorities? In this episode of Leadership is Feminine, Kris Plachy challenges you to confront the deeper truth behind your excuses and start reshaping your beliefs to achieve the life you truly want.

Kris dives into the psychology of why we default to “I don’t have time” and how this mindset often masks a reluctance to leave our comfort zones or prioritize ourselves. “It’s not that you don’t have time—it’s that you don’t want to or aren’t willing to prioritize yourself,” she explains. Through candid insights and personal stories, Kris illustrates how shifting your mindset and embracing discomfort can lead to powerful transformations.

This episode also introduces Believe, Kris’s new program designed to help you create the beliefs and actions necessary to turn your vision into reality. As she guides you through ditching the “I don’t have time” narrative, Kris offers practical strategies to align your priorities with your goals, setting you up for a more intentional and fulfilling year ahead.

Join Kris for an empowering episode that will leave you inspired to take charge of your time, your priorities, and your life.

Key Takeaways From This Episode

1. The Importance of Belief: Thinking differently about yourself and your ability to reach your goals.

2. The Deceit of "I Don't Have Time"

3. The Struggle and Discomfort that Comes with New Actions to Achieve Something Not Achieved Before

4. The Detrimental Impact of Not Being Honest with Oneself

5. Changing the Narrative: Acknowledging that having time for something means making it a priority.

6. Replacing the Narrative of 'I don't have time' to a Truthful Statement: The freedom that comes from telling the truth about priorities

Contact Information and Recommended Resources

Discover the power of belief to achieve your biggest goals with TheVisionary.CEO's transformative 5-week group coaching experience starting January 2, 2025—visit www.thevisionary.ceo/believe to join now!

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Transcript

Kris Plachy:
Hello, my friend. I'm coming to you in 27 degree weather in Saugerties, New York. I am on family vacation. It has been amazing. The snow is everywhere. We just walked through Boston all day yesterday in a blizzard. I call it a blizzard, I guess locals wouldn't call it that. But it snowed all day and the snowflakes were huge. And so I'm recording this podcast on a walk with a hood and a hat on because it's freezing.

Kris Plachy:
And so I think that there might be some additional noise on this podcast because my AirPods are in my ears, rubbing up against all of this fabric. So for that I apologize, but I wanted to get this podcast recorded because it's been heavy on my mind. And actually it's so snowy, it's hard to find anywhere to walk that isn't slippery. So my husband found the middle school here in town and we thought we could walk on the track, but that's covered in snow and ice, but the road isn't. So walking on the road around the school. But I wanted to get this recorded before I got home because it's been on my mind and I think it's appropriate, as we near the end of the year that, I don't know, I feel compelled to share it. So there's a lot of layers to this. I'm going to do my best to make this make sense.

Kris Plachy:
I want to also preface this by saying that as someone who's a coach, you know, it's always a little weird, right? I'm a coach who people pay to help them achieve the results that they want. But at the heart of what I do, honestly is to help you achieve what you want. And yes, that is how I make a living. But what I really want and why I do what I do is so that the people that I get to interact with, on whatever level that is, I provide some level of value, insight, perspective that helps you live a better life. And sometimes doing that, sometimes the only way I can actually help someone do that is to express out loud some of the truths that I think that we all know, but we don't talk about. And so this podcast for me is a little bit of a love letter and also a little bit of a, I don't know, let's just call it a tough love letter. That whether you are a paying client or not, I think all of us need this message. I need this message.

Kris Plachy:
That's why I say to you, like, this is going to come in some layers because I see how functionally we can fall into this pattern. I have been in this pattern. I might still be in this pattern in parts of my life. So this is not me standing on some mountaintop telling you how perfect it is when you master this. It's really more me standing with you saying, really? Are we going to put up with this from ourselves? So I think, you know, I've been mentioning that I'm running a program in January called Believe. One Month to Believe. One year to achieve. I do believe that the achievements we want most require reformed belief systems than the ones that we've had, because the ones that we've had have not led us to the results that we say that we want.

Kris Plachy:
So anytime we know we want something to be different than what it's been, the first place we have to begin is in our mind. But unfortunately, the first place that most people begin is with a plan. And it's interesting because I even got a thing today in my inbox from a coach that I follow who specializes in working with entrepreneurs. And it's really good. It's like his "The best way to achieve your 10 year goals", right? And so I'm like, okay, tell me, what are the 10, the best ways to achieve my 10 year goals? Give me it. Give me it straight. So I open it up and it's really good. It's like, "This is what I achieved for the last 10 years in my business, in my life and my family and my finances." You know, all those things.

Kris Plachy:
"And this is what I want to achieve in the next 10 years, and this is what I want to do this year." And, you know, it's really good. Great. But nowhere in there is there any discussion about how you have to think differently about yourself and your ability to do that in order to make that happen. And I just think it's a huge part of the conversation that we're not having. So that's why in January, I'm running Believe. And one of the first principles that I am going to address here on this podcast for all of you to hear is this notion that we, I. E. you, don't have time to invest in yourself to achieve what you want.

Kris Plachy:
I hear this all the time from everybody. I hear from myself. "Oh my God. I don't have time to work out. I don't have time to, I don't know, call people that I should call. I don't have time to participate in a program. I don't have time to show up for those calls. I don't have time to think about myself. I don't have time to reconsider what I want."

Kris Plachy:
It's a lie or it's the God's truth, right? Like, or it's totally true. And so therefore you should probably, instead of saying "I don't have time", what we should actually say is, I don't want to. I don't want to work out. I don't want to learn more about myself and how I think about myself. I don't want to learn how to expand and grow so that I can be a better leader, parent, wife, husband, spouse, daughter. I don't want to.

Kris Plachy:
Because the "I don't have time," phrase is just a lie. It's not that you don't have time, it's that you don't want to or you aren't willing to prioritize yourself. And I just think if you say the truth, it's at least more liberating than hiding behind a lie. I hear it a lot. As we get towards the end of the year, right, people start talking about what they want to do next year and what they want to achieve and all the things. And then what happens with that is, yeah, but I just don't have time. I really want to work with XYZ person, but I mean, I just don't have time.

Kris Plachy:
I really want to go and start to play tennis or pickleball or whatever, but, oh, I just don't have time. I really want to be more involved in my kids, school stuff, but I just don't have time. I really want to foster dogs and be a part of that. I just don't have time. I really, really want to be able to invest better and be more, you know, conscious and aware of my investment. I just don't have time. That's a lie. Now that we've established that what's the truth and live into the truth and then ask yourself if you like it.

Kris Plachy:
Now that we've established that what's the truth and live into the truth and then ask yourself if you like it. So if you really, really want to, in the world that I'm in, right, feel more confident, feel more courageous, feel more capable, feel more rested, feel more sated, feel more joy, feel less exhausted, feel less harangued, feel less overwhelmed, feel less helpless. Whatever it is in the business that you run as a woman who leads, if that's what you really, really, really want. Like, if you're, if you think about this all the time, you think, "I really want to hit XYZ amount of revenue and I want to do that with a better team. I want to do that as a better leader. I want to do that in a way that doesn't perpetuate all this exhaustion and insecurity." Is that really what you want? Then why would you ever say you don't have time for it, right? If that's what you really want, why would you say you don't have time for it? Instead say, I actually don't really want it. And how do I know I don't really want it? Because I'm not willing to make time for it. I would like to have it if I could just buy it off the shelf, but I can't. I have to work for it.

Kris Plachy:
And of course, we know that anything that you want to achieve that you have not achieved before requires a new way of thinking. It also requires new action. And you know what comes with that? So much discomfort, so much disease. So many things that you don't want to deal with, decisions you don't want to make, conversations you don't want to have, things you have to try and fail at. Oh, my gosh, it's so impossible, it's so awful to try something new, to believe something, that something could be achieved on the other side of some of where you are today. And to continue to believe it, even though it's hard and awkward and uncomfortable. It's so true, right? Like I always used to say, I want to be skinny.

Kris Plachy:
I just don't want to lose weight. Right? I just want to wake up and be skinny and healthy and strong. I don't want to have to lose weight. That's awful, right? I just want to be wealthy. I don't want to have to make money. I don't want to have to figure out how to make the money. I just want to be wealthy. I just want to have a great business that flows with ease.

Kris Plachy:
I don't, I don't want to have to actually learn how to lead. Ew. I don't blame you. I get it. But can we stop blaming that you don't have time? Because that's a lie. You're not willing. You don't want it enough to make the time.

Kris Plachy:
And if that's the truth, then speak it. What do you want? What are you willing to make the time for? What is getting your attention on purpose? Even though right now you would say they're all have to. What is all this stuff that's filling your space? What is it? "Oh, I have to do this, and I have this going on with this, and I have this, and I have all this." Okay. And are you saying that especially as a woman who runs her own company, those things are, like, forced upon you? Of course. My response to any of that is, that's exactly why you have to make time to learn how to be a better leader. Because if you feel absolutely over-obligated, that's because you're still too far in the trenches.

Kris Plachy:
Because it's, there is a truth that you could grow the business and not have to be in the business all day, right? Do you believe that? Because most people don't. And all achievement begins with believing and believing, even when you have no evidence for it. Although there is a lot of evidence of people running companies who are not in the weeds. You know that, right? Why are you special and different? Because you don't believe that it's true. And if you don't have time to learn how or to invest in becoming the woman who believes more, then you won't realize that. So I wonder where in your life are you telling yourself you really want something but you just don't have time? And are you willing to tell the truth and just tell the truth and then sit with that? Right?

Kris Plachy:
For years, I would say I don't have time to work out, to move my body. But the real truth was I didn't want to. I didn't like it. I didn't like feeling the discomfort of it. I just didn't like it. And then what was so crazy is I started to like playing pickleball. You guys have heard me talk about this and now that's all I want to do, is move my body. I would never say I don't have time to play pickleball. Pickleball is seriously one of my top five priorities in my life. Right? What I do, huh? Interesting.

Kris Plachy:
So was it easy to learn how to play pickleball? No. The first open play I went to, I went home and cried. Cried with my husband. I cried because I felt like such a loser. I was so bad. And he texted me, he was so cute. And he said, "It's okay, we don't have to do this anymore because we joined this league," right? He's like, "We don't have to do this anymore. It's okay."

Kris Plachy:
And I'm like, oh, hell no. I am going to be an amazing pickleball player. I was committed. So all those years, now I wish I had known about pickleball, but I didn't because it wasn't the right time for me. But I think we have to really work with what we believe and find the sweet spots. And if there's like me, if I had continued to tell myself I really need to work out, but I don't have time, I never would have worked out. I never would have moved my body more.

Kris Plachy:
But I kept believing that there has to be a way to feel okay in my skin. There has to be a way to do this. I really did believe in the goal, even though the how kept being awful. And the truth is, the pickleball was awful and still is. Sometimes there's days that it's awful. I play terribly. I feel stupid. I play with people that are so much better than me. But it doesn't change the fact that I will never, ever not play pickleball unless my body breaks.

Kris Plachy:
I have the same work that I do in my business, all of us do, right? Every now and then, I catch myself saying, "I don't have time to learn how to make more money". That's like saying, I don't have time to stop my car when it's out of gas. It's ridiculous. Of course I have time to learn how to make more money. Why wouldn't I? Now, what's more true, I don't like learning about how to make more money. I don't like learning about marketing. I don't like learning about, I don't know, hooks, right? Like, whatever the things are that people have to teach people to do.

Kris Plachy:
I don't like learning how to do all that. That's the truth. I would rather just coach all y'll. But I do have to learn. And I continue to learn even though I'm uncomfortable. So what is it for you that you keep telling yourself you really want? I really want, but I don't have time. And are you willing to at least start now with the truth? And from the truth, you can actually evaluate what you're saying to yourself.

Kris Plachy:
Because the lie of "I don't have time" keeps you sort of almost like in this peaceful bliss of like, well, if I had time, I would do all these things, but I just don't have time, so I can't. It sounds so pretty. And it's all just a lie. And as you go into this new year, listen, we got people lying to us all over the world. How about you don't lie to yourself, right? Like, what is it you want, love? And if the real reason that you don't have it yet is just because it's hard, okay, you can do hard things, right? I know this about you. So what makes this the thing that you hide from, that you pretend like you can't do because you don't have time? What is it? Answer it and move along and then decide to believe something else on purpose. Decide to believe really what's true for you on purpose. I would like to learn how to deal with the challenges of managing people in a team.

Kris Plachy:
I really would. But my priority this year is to learn how to, I don't know, sell. Okay, do that. Tell the truth. I would really like to lose weight. But instead of saying, I don't have time to go to the gym and I don't have time to, I don't know, work out at home, just tell yourself that I would really like to lose weight, but I find it hard to lose weight. So what I will do to take care of my body is I will focus on this. Tell yourself the truth.

Kris Plachy:
What is it? What is the right answer for you right now? Find a truth first, and then decide what you want to believe on purpose. Do that. No more "I don't have time". This is your life, beautiful. You are living this life here. Now.

Kris Plachy:
If you are in earshot of these words, this is good news. You're still on the planet. You're still walking around, talking to people, connecting, probably smiling, having joy. This is good news. So let's celebrate what you're capable of instead of hiding from, you know, the things that feel daunting. As long as you're here and as long as you have desire and as long as you have commitment and as long as you work on believing, I know there's nothing you can't make happen. I really know this. I've seen it too many times.

Kris Plachy:
I have a client who recently came to one of my Hawaii retreats, and she and I have known each other for a very long time. She's a- she'll know exactly who she is as soon as she hears this. So. Hi, you. She's an incredibly talented woman, has lived a beautiful life, but of late, the last few years, has been exhausting herself by doing her very best to accommodate everybody else in her life. And I'm sure there's been some, "I don't have time".

Kris Plachy:
It's one of the things that people say to me a lot about the Hawaii retreat. Oh, God, I want to go to that Hawaii retreat so bad. I just don't have time. I just don't know how I would make the time. So. And in fact, I think she almost said that to me. I think she almost wasn't sure if she could make it. But then she ended up coming.

Kris Plachy:
And I know she would tell you, if she was on the podcast, it changed her life. It became a new ground level for her, a new foundation. She transformed how she thinks and what she believes about herself, her business, her team, everything. Four days, and they weren't even full days. She found another way to believe in herself, to believe in what's possible, to believe in her potential to believe it.

Kris Plachy:
Just stop believing what she was believing that was keeping her stuck, spinning in overwhelm and exhaustion and accommodation. But if she just kept saying, "Oh, my God, that sounds so amazing. I just wish. I just wish I had time," you're never going to have that kind of time. It's not going to open up and say, okay, here's four free days. But you don't have that kind of time for anything.

Kris Plachy:
You just prioritize other things instead of yourself. That's all. None of us just gets four days. That just opens up. We decide, I'm going to take these four days, and everything else bounces back because that's what we've prioritized. So whatever it is, love, I just want you to hear this. I know this goes out to thousands of people. And as we approach the new year, do this differently this year. Hey, let's decide that we're not going to use this lie, "I don't have time".

Kris Plachy:
That we're going to tell ourselves the truth first. I don't want to. It's too hard. It's not my priority. Even though I feel like it should be. I feel pressured for it to be, but it isn't my priority is this. I want this in my life. I don't want this in my life.

Kris Plachy:
Or I really do want to make the time. I really do want to figure out how to make this happen. I don't know where to begin. Just talking about it overwhelms me because I feel like there are so many people I have to say no to, so many things I have to say no to, to create space for my yes. Okay, that's a solvable problem. Honestly, everything is a solvable problem when you start with the truth. Then we don't have to swirl all around it. Let's just start with the truth.

Kris Plachy:
So I hope this was helpful. A little gentle, lovey love. Tough, tough. For this incoming - incoming - incoming New Year with all its promise. You know, the Believe - as my client called it, which I love - The Believe project that I'm starting on January 2nd is really about setting a course through your belief for the year. So instead of it being like, let's set all your goals for the year, right? That's not what we're doing. We're going to set up what it is you want to believe on purpose and how to continue to believe that regardless of what the year delivers.

Kris Plachy:
Because you and I both know that life is is twisty turny and if there are things that really matter to you to make sure are on your "I did that" at the end of this year list, then the way we're going to do that is through belief. Because belief always drives results. You can write as many goals as you want. Writing the goals doesn't make them happen. Believing in them does. So if you want to learn more, go to thevisionary.CEO/Believe and I will talk to you next time.