Life isn’t fair. Sometimes there is just no way around it. We do our best, we hope for the best, we cross our fingers and toes and yet sometimes life just still has a nasty way of whacking us across the face with a two by four.
That happened to me today. I got a phone call that set me reeling and got me thinking about things that I usually try to avoid thinking about. I got a call to tell me that an amazing friend whom I love and admire has been given maybe a year to live.
1.) Stop “shoulding” on your play time: Okay–we get it. You’re a grown up and you have real responsibilities and commitments. Guess what…we ALL do. We are not suggesting that you shirk those important tasks or drop the ball on your obligations. We are simply suggesting that you incorporate more minutes of guilt-free play time into your day without dragging yourself down with all of the imagined things that you should be doing instead. In fact, studies have shown that those who regularly incorporate scheduled play time into their daily routines are actually more productive than those who keep their nose to the grind-stone all day, every day.
Stop being a martyr and begin allowing your own emotional health to become a priority in your life. If a task is truly important–it will get done. If you allow yourself time to refresh and reinvigorate with some playtime, it will get done even better. Stop using “busyness” as an excuse because there is always a way to make time for the things that are truly important. Your emotional well being and enjoyment of life are worth at least the level of commitment that you give to your other tasks and responsibilities.
2.) Adopt PLAY as a way of life: Once we’ve set the intention of adding more playfulness into our days, we need to get serious about acting upon that intention. Usually, we go about living our lives doing all of the things that we need to get done and then…if we have any time or energy left over, we might allow ourselves a little snippet of time to play. Unfortunately, this approach is (as my grandpa used to say) “bass ackwards”. Instead of fitting some playtime in if we have a few extra minutes (because seriously–when is THAT ever the case?), we need to make an effort to schedule our pleasure and give it the same level of importance that we give to our “to do” list.
I have too much stuff.
Don’t get me wrong…I’m not quite ready for one of those episodes of “Hoarders” (though I do like that show–it makes me feel better about my house!) But still…I have TOO, TOO MUCH.
The ironic thing about having too much stuff is that many of the things that I have are supposed to make my life easier. Unfortunately, spending two hours looking for something that’s supposed to make life easier–DOES NOT MAKE LIFE EASIER.
“Winners never quit and quitters never win”
This is a phrase that I heard as a child and it has stuck with me my entire life. For the most part, I agree with it. Certainly perseverance is an admirable quality and I do believe that there is power in “sticking it out”.
Is there ever a time however when “quitting” is okay? Is “throwing in the towel” ever admirable? Can you actually get ahead sometimes by “giving up”? Contrary to what many people preach–my answer to this question is a resounding YES!
I think that there are two distinct times in a person’s life when “giving up” is the BEST answer when seeking to live a truly FabYOUlous life. I can say this with confidence because I’ve experienced both of these instances in my own life and can honestly say that the quality of my life got exponentially BETTER each time that I “gave up” .