New Day, Next Page

Wow! It has been a long time since I have looked at this blog. I was reading back over some of my past posts and realized that I really enjoy writing and that a lot has happened in my life over the past year or two. With that I have learned a lot about myself.

Lately, I have been doing a lot of reflection on my life and thinking about what I want out of it. I guess I have just been coming to the realization that if I don't act on life, it will "happen" to me. So, I need to set boundaries and have an idea of where I want to go. What I am not saying is that I need to have a master plan of every step I will ever take in life. But rather, know what is important to me (and to Bree) and go after those things. The hard part about that is saying no to everyone else.

I saw a Stephen Covey video once that did a great job at illustrating this point. He had a bucket filled about 3/4 with pebbles and then around ten large stones each with a label - family, travel, church, etc. The pebbles represented all of the little things in life, good or bad - appointments, soccer games, church events, etc. He asked a volunteer to choose a certain number of the larger stones that represented things that were important to her - around 6 or 7 - and fit them in the bucket, below the brim. After trying for a couple of minutes she gave up, Stephen stopped her, knowing it was impossible, and changed the rules. He gave her an empty bucket and asked her to do the same thing. Of course, this time it was easy. He then asked her to see how much of the pebbles from the previous bucket she could fit in with the large stones. She poured a little at a time and shook the pebbles down to the bottom, and sure enough she fit all of them.

The message in this illustration is pretty clear - If you try to fit the things you value in on top of life, it isn't going to work. Rather, put the things you value first, and let everything else fill the gaps.

This is so important and something that I have been trying the wrong way and have been working over the past year or two to go back and put the things I value in the bucket first.

I love life and I love learning!