No Regrets

"In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become

strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until

ultimately we become enslaved by it."

 

 - Robert Heinlein

How easy it is to get wrapped up in the day-to-day. As a mother of more than a few kids, I know this first-hand. Housecleaning, appointments, to-do lists, shopping, lessons, sports, meal planning, emails and endless errands fill my time. Before I realize it, the day has escaped me and one bleeds into the next. By looking at how I spend my time, you would discern that I prefer to do laundry and dishes over following my dreams. These things vie for my attention as I take the weighty steps toward my desk to sit down to write every day. Do the daily minutiae take priority over my life goals? No, but I have to convince myself of this often.
  
What will you be doing five years from now? Try this writing exercise to describe your ideal future. Use this as a platform for creating a vision for your life. Defining where I am going helps me to stick to the road I am on, instead of taking unknown detours. I have to know what I want before I set out to get it or I risk major distraction.

How I choose to spend my time now will make a difference later. Delayed gratification is real, if I take small steps today, tomorrow, and the next day, it will add up to big change no matter the goal. While I cannot escape all of my duties, I cannot let them overwhelm me to the point there is nothing left. I have a choice to use what free time I have wisely, in a way I won't regret five, ten, twenty years from now.

We are greeted every day with an opportunity to reinvent ourselves. We can take on new ventures and leave behind what no longer works. We can prioritize and schedule time in our busy calendars to follow our hearts. We have as many hours in the day as the greatest achievers throughout history. The question is, do you have the same focus and determination?  Do you know where you are going? You may not be able to map every step of the way, every twist and turn the road delivers, but you can have a clearly defined goal. I bet there is something that you can do today to begin to make your dreams a reality, the laundry and dishes can wait.