Friday, March 13, 2009

C'mon, Get Happy!

Boy, have I been a downer lately!

Geez ... my posts have been dark the past couple of days. Can you blame me? Nine dead in Alabama shooting rampage ... Fifteen dead in Germany high school shooting rampage ... A man walking into a church and killing the pastor?

But today is a new day!

I've been thinking about my priorities after the week's events and a quote I heard the other day that hit home: "You're never really ready, and it's just your turn."

I'm so.not.a.risk-taker. I prefer the known ... yup, I'd be the one taking the road more travelled. I create lists to help me create lists.

So I guess it is not a surprise that I am a follower of Steven Covey. I live and die by my Franklin Planner. I've had one since I was in high school! It's how I got my husband to fall in love with me --that's a story for another time.

The week's events have made me rethink if I'm focusing too much on the small, non-important stuff and not enough on the big, really important stuff.

One of my favorite bloggers (and fellow mom of triplets), did a blog about priorities based on Covey's famous lecture on how to set priorities in life based on a jar. Talk about perfect timing! I needed that shot in the arm.

I think I've been trying to shove big rocks into sand. (PSA: That makes no sense to all of you who did not use the hyperlink on "jar" in the paragraph.)

I think I haven't been following Pareto's Principle. You know -- 80% of your given results come from only 20% of your actions.

I think I've been focusing on activities that produce the least amount of meaningful results. My jar is full of lots of pebbles and sand, and not enough big rocks.

I'd think I started out with lots of big rocks, but over the years I've allowed those big rocks to be eroded down to smaller pebbles and even grains of sand. I shudder to think I forgot to put those big rocks in my jar in the first place.

So, I am emptying my jar and refilling it the right way. Yes, I will still make a list of how I will fill my jar, and I will be consulting Mapquest before I travel down any road. I know I can't change overnight, but I recognize that there needs to be change.

Won't my husband be surprised when I make doing laundry a grain of sand priority?

Tonight, I think I will add one more layer to my jar -- once it is full of big rocks, pebbles, and sand, I'm going to fill it with liquid.

Wine, to be exact. After all, tonight is the Cincinnati International Wine Festival that Dan and I volunteer at and attend each year. It's where we got engaged -- that's a story for another time, too.

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