Happy Monday!
You know what’s hard? That first Monday back to work after two weeks of vacation… that’s hard.
But what’s funny, is that it’s not hard because I don’t want to get back to work (I don’t really ever stop working…). It’s hard because I am overwhelmed by all the opportunity I have!
Okay, so that sounds sort of fluffy and life’s-so-great-yeah-yeah. But actually, it took me the weekend to realize this.
So I run three businesses — Edward Jones, C. Elizabeth Photography, and MontessoriKind. I’m also a wife and homeowner (laundry after vacation is suffocating…) and I value my time with my family and my time to myself. So when you try to pack ALL of those things into one weekend after vacation, it’s almost as hard as packing two weeks of clothes into the suitcase I took to Florida.
What I’m trying to say is…I spent the weekend with a spinning brain. Anybody else? It was one of those days when no matter what I was doing, I was thinking about the other things I need to be/should be/could be/want to be doing.
For example, I’m folding laundry and thinking about the dishes in the sink. I’m editing photos and wondering what my week at the office looks like. I’m at a family party and checking my emails. Sound familiar?
Well I don’t do well with this. My head gets into a spiral and eventually I just decide to do… nothing. Yep, nothing. The sit on the couch and not even watch what’s on TV nothing. Sound familiar?
So here’s the deal. CHILL OUT. I woke up this Monday morning and said, “Woah.” What in the world am I rushing around for? What is the deadline? When is the due date? Ummm…hello! There isn’t one!
There is no due date and deadline for the activities and experiences that make up what we call life. (Well I guess there is, and that’s dying, but let’s not get too morbid here. It’s Monday morning after all.)
There are no deadlines! That may sound crazy. You may decide to stop reading here because you disagree entirely. But what I mean is that we so often wake up each day with the stress of all the things we need to get done, reminding ourselves of all the things we won’t get to today. We rush around all day trying to finish up and complete various things, check off a to-do list, and then what? We come home and we still don’t feel like we “finished!”
Well here’s the secret. It’s because there is no FINISH. This is not a race.
I woke up this morning off to the races, in search of the evening finish line and then it dawned on me. Each day is not a test to my ability to complete and finish, or to rush and make it all end faster, what if I look at today as a series of opportunities that are steps towards the goals I’ve set for myself?
What if a load of laundry isn’t a chore, but an opportunity to actually step away from the computer, to care for my house, and to let my mind think (which just opens you up to accepting even more opportunity!) What if the phone calls I have to make today, aren’t actually “have-to‘s” at all? The only reason there are phone calls to make is because I put them there! I created this reality as I know it’s what is necessary to point me toward my goals. Those phone calls aren’t “to-do’s,” they are a choice and an opportunity.
It may all sound too fluffy and woo-woo to you, but give it a try. What in your day today is just a step, not something to be completed and finished, but just part of what moves you through your day. What if it’s not a to-do list, but an opportunity list that you do or don’t have to “check-off,” but you have the opportunity to move forward with each activity.
There is no finish line. We create this reality. Shape your to-do’s into choices.
So here’s to Monday. To a week of opportunity. To a week of being open to what fills your day.
