JKLTip Are your moments filled [as much as possible] with what you truly care about?
Every time we say yes to something, whether talking to ourselves, or talking to someone else, we are saying no to something too. When we decide, yes we will do that, then there are other things we need to say no to. It’s really just simple math. While mindfulness and losing track of time is important for mental health, there simply is a finite number of “things” we can do in our time on this earth. It’s important that we ask ourselves with all of our commitments we are taking on, what are we sacrificing?
This evaluation has to happen big and small. When it comes to the big ideas, like what to take in school, what house we buy, what work we do, it’s important we stay lean, meaning we can pivot when possible because we don’t know for sure if we’ll find joy. In the smaller moments, if we have 45 minutes to “kill” and want to get in shape, do we do a quick workout? Do we make it a point to visit loved ones when we’re in town, or are we just passing by? Every moment we are choosing to do one thing over the other, and always need to ask what is most important?
This world, while so complex in the fine details, is so so simple in the big picture if we allow it to be. Not to oversimplify, but what genuinely, truthfully brings us the most value in life? We need to do more of that (those things), in fact, it’s important that we say no to everything else possible. The best way for us to know what these things are is to use our intuition, to go with our gut. A quick caveat though; while it really is this simple, getting there takes a lot of work, a lot of tough self discovery by evaluating what really brings us joy? What would we regret doing, or not doing? At the end of life, what’s more important?