Give Yourself the Gift of Time with Mario Bricks

By Andy Swindler | December 18, 2018 |

Make Time for Self Love

The most common symptom of the modern world that I encounter when I’m coaching productive conscious leaders is that there just isn’t enough time for everything, especially themselves. This lack of focus on self love can deteriorate your fulfillment in life and the energy you have to share your gifts with the people who need them.

One benefit to knowing your purpose is having clear guidance to make decisions about how to spend your limited time and energy in the greatest service to the world. But at a practical level, the demands of acting on purpose can still feel like slicing up your calendar to satisfy everyone else’s needs before your own.

Mario Bricks

As I contemplated how to have more time in my life for self love, it dawned on me that I always have time in my future if I look out far enough. It just seems to get taken up several days or weeks in advance.

While I credit my tech savviness to growing up with an Apple IIc instead of a Nintendo, I still managed to play plenty of Super Mario Bros. Mario had a knack for jumping up to bust special bricks so that coins would pop out.

That was the answer! You can bring loving playfulness to your own life by planting Mario Bricks with hidden coins for you to discover.

How To Make Your Own Mario Brick:

STEP 1: Create Your Mario Brick
Go as far into your future as you need to find an open span of time in your calendar. Block out the amount of time you want to give yourself. Label it “Mario Brick” or something more meaningful to you.

I like to set aside 3-5 hours so that I really sink into an experience, but you could start with one hour if that feels more comfortable.

STEP 2: Carry On
Wait for the day to arrive. Do not plan anything. You may have thoughts about what you want to do. That’s perfectly okay. Just don’t plan anything specific.

Also, this is REALLY important. Do not move your Mario Brick. It’s possible you will be tempted to move it since you believe that it’s “flexible” or “not important.” But is that really true? Is this gift to yourself not important? Are you truly loving yourself by letting other priorities shove your own time around?

STEP 3: Smash Your Mario Brick!
When the moment arrives, delete it, scratch it out, tear off the page, etc. See what “coin” pops out.

Ideally this is an embodiment exercise. Find some quiet space to breathe, meditate and feel into your body to know what you truly want in this moment. Get out of your head. It may be completely different than what you thought was going to happen, and that’s perfect! Surprise yourself.

STEP 4: Enjoy Your Mario Brick!
Savor it. Soak it in. Remember, this is exactly what you are scheduled to be doing right now. And be sure to spend some time celebrating this incredible gift you just gave yourself.

STEP 5: Schedule a Few More Mario Bricks
If you loved this experience, keep it going! And please tell us about your experience in the comments below so we can be inspired by your courageous act of self love.

My Mario Brick Experience

For the purpose of experimenting with this idea so that I could feel confident that it was worth sharing, I scheduled three Mario Bricks in my calendar. Follow along with my journey.

Mario Brick 1: August 22, 2018

Part One: