Necessity
“Our greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James
Good habits are necessary to keep us even and balanced. Running and writing are two habits that are important to me and I’ve not been doing them regularly the last few months. Instead, I’ve been busy only doing others’ priorities, others’ agendas. Go faster, do more, it’s not enough, keep pushing, one more thing…
When we succumb to the demands of others and those become the entire make up of our day, we see it show up in how we see and react to our world. And we become people who we don’t recognize or want to be. Impatient, ungrateful and cynical. Yuck.
We will always have the demands of others and work on us. But when we also put a priority on doing our priorities, we can do what’s required with more ease. Getting back to what we enjoy actually makes us more effective and productive. More importantly to the person we want to be around.
We so often know what we need to do, yet we delay the doing. So spend some time today doing things that you enjoy first and then move on to other demands after. Cast some fun into today – it’s a necessity. Now, I am off for a run.
I totally agree. So many years ago in an effort to organize and ‘get things done’ I followed a much touted plan to make a list of the things I HAD to do and start at the top working down through the tasks. I never got to the fun stuff and drove myself neurotic. Then I turned the list upside down and started with the goodies. I never did get to all the important things but I saved my sanity. Painting, walking in the woods…..yes!!! Paying bills is important but not first on your list. I’m so happy to read at last about a happy list.
Thanks for your thoughtful response!
Thank you for the great post. My fun stuff is drawing and painting. If I start the day with it, nothing else gets done and time seems to disappear. Lately, I have just given up and allocated the whole day! This is a luxury only available on occasions unfortunately. Oh the dilemma of the creative. 🙂
The time disappears when we are in our zone and everything flows. If only on occasion, it reminds us of who we are, of possibilities fulfilled. A gift to be sure. Keep painting, if even for a slice of each day,