Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Time is Relative

There is only a certain amount of time in everyday! I can only do so much. I like to plan and get things done and accomplish a lot. I even love the time that I have planned to be spontaneous with the kids :). I feel very successful when I am able to accomplish my days plan and when I can get everything done in the times that I thought I would get them done. I get an "Ahhhh" feeling and then I even enjoy a little break.On the other hand, there are those days when you don't get to cross off all of the tasks and to do's on your days plan and those days make me cringe, grouchy, angry, and disappointed. Man those days are a pain in the rear, everyone has them. I have been having a lot of those days lately especially when it comes to things that you need to get done that involve help from someone else. It's not that I feel like people have to cater to my every whim the minute I want them to, it's just, you know, my plan and my idea of a timeline that something needs to be done and if I worked hard all day on trying to get something done that cannot be finished because I need someone else to help I feel helpless and like a failure. The next thing that gets in the way is stuff. And what I mean by stuff is all those unexpected events that happen everyday that you have no way of planning for or controlling...like for instance when the washer decides it doesn't want to shut off and pours tons of water all over the floor and in every nook and cranny of the house. Or when your daughter spills her juice all over the floor or when you have a friend that needs your help, or when someone calls and wants you to do annoying paperwork. The list goes on and on, and when I am attending to those events rather than my plan my mind goes, "Lindsay you are sooooo lazy, and oh my goodness look at all of those tasks on your list that did not get done, you are not a good person, you are a failure." I guess thinking those kinds of thoughts would make a person grouchy, annoyed, and angry.


So, what's a person to do with this. Well get rid of those thoughts because they simple aren't true! Let's get real with ourselves and our life. If I simply could not finish something because of events that were outside of my control that does not mean that I am lazy, and it does not mean that my efforts weren't successful. Even though events do not turn out the way that we plan and the way we have worked for them to turn out it doesn't give our work any less meaning. In terms of unexpected events happening during the day. I have to remember that I choose to handle the spilled juice first and I choose to help someone first and I choose to clean up water all over the house first and choosing to do those things first means that I 'm choosing them as a priority over something that was on my to do list. So I feel like those things are important and I am doing them because I want to not because I have to and if I choose to do those unexpected happenings rather than feel like I have to do them because "the outside universe made me do it!" I will be happier and more joyful about doing them and I won't feel like I'm letting more important list items go by the wayside and therefore I can feel successful about my day.

Time is relative and it does keep going there will be more time to do those tasks on my plan and if a deadline ends you don't, you keep going and the things that are most important can keep getting done when the time is right. I hate those items at the bottom of my to do list that keep getting put at the bottom of the to do list. But I have to remember that they are there for a reason, something more important and time sensitive is happening that needs to happen now. Like my family practitioner reminded me when I was getting a mole removed, you will either have a mole here or a scar. And that's the way it is with our lists. We will always have something at the bottom of our list weather it is something new or something from last year. We decide what goes there and we decide when it gets to move up the list. We choose how we spend our time so there is no sense in getting angry or upset or blaming someone or the universe for things that you "have to do or can't do."


Lessons in Progress:

1.) Make a plan and make a to do list.


2.) Those things on my list that I want to get done may have to changed to accommodate more important events.


3.) When I do have to change it does not mean that I have failed, it just means that I had more important things to do.


4.) When I cannot control what others do or the outcome of my work I remember that my work is still worth what I put into it and that makes me successful.


5.) I choose what to do with my time nothing or no one makes me do it.


6.) Stop telling lies about myself that simply aren't true, they only make me angry and less capable of handling problems.


7.)Time keeps on going, I will have more time another day!