Perspective matters. A LOT.
I was recently reminded of this fact when I was bemoaning the busyness in my life; I had been rattling off a long list of commitments (while complaining about each one) to one of my “accountability partners”. (Learn more about my accountability partners here.)
Week after week, when I meet with this particular accountability partner, I have had a laundry list of mini-catastrophes and unwelcome commitments that had prevented me from accomplishing the items I identified as priorities during our weekly Skype call. As I vented my frustration about the week’s events and the myriad of commitments that had sidelines my personal goals, she cut me off abruptly, her irritation obvious, and told me that I needed to stop all the outside commitments I had been routinely complaining about. I was told, in no uncertain terms, to quit the commitments, give up the weekend job, stop overcommitting myself. I don’t remember everything since she said, but the verbal diatribe about how I lived my life stopped me short.
I quickly went on the defensive, explaining why I participated in each activity, what it meant to me and how I gained (personally, professionally, spiritually, etc.) from it. Yet, she was relentless. In an effort to spare myself the tirade I had unwittingly unleashed, I directed the conversation to her — and was granted a reprieve when we shifted the topic to her goals, successes, setbacks, and future priorities she had outlined the prior week.
As we wrapped up our weekly meeting, she reiterated her stance on how I was living my life and what needed to be changed. As she expressed her concerns, gently this time, I realized that my perception and reality were incongruous, and that the discordance between them was the root cause of so many of my frustrations.
The reality is this: I love my busy, sometimes chaotic life. It am often happiest with a full load of commitments. My to-do list is a mile long because the blank page of possibility is sometimes more frightening than a precariously balanced loads of obligations.
And with that realization came another: Perspective (and presentation) matter. The litany of complaints I regularly wielded as reason for not accomplishing items I deemed “priorities” was really nothing more than excuses. My accomplishments are(for the most part) the result of what I choose to prioritize and complete. If it’s important to me, then I get it done. And if it is not as important as I make it out to be, then it falls to the wayside.
I realized that my chronic complaints had to stop, and I need to take ownership and responsibility of my life in word and deed.
Here’s my new commitment: to truly love the life I live and let that love be reflected inwardly and outwardly. And if I don’t love it, CHANGE IT. Stop making excuses.
