For many of us, an average day feels like a scramble of urgent tasks. Its the buzz of an incoming text and the flash of a fresh email. And it feels satisfying to complete these timely to-dos. But as we tend to the seemingly urgent, there's a danger that we neglect the deeply important. And there's a crucial distinction to understand. Often what feels urgent is actually unimportant, it just feels important. Imagine for a moment your phone ringing. The vibration. The ring tone. The caller ID. But instead of picking up, imagine letting the call go to voicemail. How does it feel to sit with it? You might notice an anxiousness in your chest. We're used to picking up calls because they feel urgent. But if we really think about it, an incoming call can usually wait. In an ideal world, we would get to everything... but it's impossible. So how can we let go of what feels urgent, and make room for whats actually important? Well, in the words of Stephen Covey, "The key is not to prioritize whats on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." So the first step is to get clear on whats important. Try making a list of whats of higher, deeper importance to you. Maybe is working on that book project, spending time with family, or the self-care of diet, exercise, and rest. And with our priorities defined, when we're pulled towards a request or email, the second step is to take a second to pause and ponder "can this wait?" Would acting on this task serve my deeper priorities? As we give more care to our priorities, we get better and devoting time to the truly important undertakings in life. It's never easy, but with discipline, we can take back our time.
It's been a strange couple weeks. I've tackled some emotional hurdles, let go of some "moments that are not ours to keep," started another new job, and have really redirected my focus on my codependency steps. I've started my second workbook and have been reading it on my lunch breaks at the new job.
The new position is complicated, but I'm catching on to the scope of our line of business fairly quickly, and I suspect my position will expand quite quickly. They have already determined that they would like me to manage an entire database and get it up and running. So I must be doing something right 5 days into the new job!
I took a little trip this past weekend back to MN. It wasn't quite how I expected... I was anxious and nervous, on edge, and pretty terrified of running into certain individuals who I had no intention of ever seeing again. I didn't see them. I was relieved. I had a lovely time otherwise, but it was overwhelming; all the old memories flooding me. On the one hand, I felt vulnerable and stupid... on the other, I felt a sense of pride in overcoming some old fears.
I love MN, but I'm not sure I'll ever return.
It no longer feels like home.
So now it's time to take a look over my priorities. What are they? What do they look like? It's about that time of year again - Time to do a little spring cleaning of the soul.
