Priorities
“The key
is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your
priorities.”
Stephen
Covey
How often do you say
these words: “I don't have time”? I don't have time to meditate,
I don't have time for my art, I don't have time to clean my house, I
don't have time to........(fill in the blank). I confess that I
sometimes feel like I invented those words. I know for a fact,
however, that other people have the same problem. If we allow it to
happen, other people, work, and good causes, will fill our minutes
and days, and our personal priorities will be shoved into the
background, and eventually, completely out of sight. At least, that's
true for me.
There is something in
us—I find this to be especially true for women—that believes that
our priorities are secondary to everyone else's, particularly those
of our family. We love our family, and we ever and always want to be
available to them, so it's natural to say “yes” when asked to do
something for them, and often, we volunteer even when it's not
requested. We don't want to change that, but we also don't want to
get to the end of our days with a long list of things we deeply
wanted to do, and didn't. At some point, our own priorities must be
brought forward.
For me, making time for
my personal priorities is a matter of scheduling. If there's
something I truly want to do, and need to do, I block off time on my
calendar, just like I would for a haircut or dental appointment. I
can't say that nothing ever interrupts that, but it works most of the
time. This is true for my spiritual life, too. I make time for it. I
don't allow that time to be co-opted by anything else. If it means I
get up an hour earlier, or go to bed an hour later, so be it. I find
that when I make time for the things I really care about, including
my spiritual life, it's easier to say “yes” to other requests.
Claiming the time and space for our soul work energizes rather than
drains us. When I fail to make time for myself and what I want to do,
I become frazzled and exhausted and then, I'm no good to anyone.
Sometimes, I still find myself trying to draw water from that empty
well, but progress is being made! How about you? Do you find it
difficult to make time for the things that help you to feel
comfortable and satisfied in spirit? Are you prioritizing your
soul-work?
In the Spirit,
Jane
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