Ever since I was a child, I have struggled to identify my priorities. I've always been interested in so many different things, and feel like I never have the time to do them all. I want to read all the books, see all the films, travel to all the places, have all the conversations, write all the stories, and attend all the events in which I am deeply interested. And yet, the limitations of time simply do not allow for this to happen. My trouble deciding how to prioritize my time intersects with my obsession with
productivity, struggles with
balance, and general
over-scheduling tendencies. My priorities have shifted greatly over the last five years or so, including a pronounced shift in conjunction with the first 65 days of my brain rewiring project. I am trying to prioritize relationships, rest, and relaxation in new ways, which triggers many
dormant demons of Doing. It also means a gradual adjustment of so many ways of being that affect all aspects of my life.
As my priorities continue to shift, I have so many questions to reexamine. How much Doing do I plan for a day? How do I choose what those tasks are? Does developing my productivity allow me to increase my rest, relaxation and time for relationships by getting more done in less time, or does it just further my obsession with a false value? How do I navigate the world while operating from radically different priorities and still be able to function in it? Do you find yourself very eager for new ideas and projects, only to realize later that you have taken on way more than you can possibly handle? Have you struggled to figure out what to prioritize? Have your values shifted your priorities, and if so how do you navigate this disconnect with the outside world? Any advice is very welcome.
I have the same problem, too much to do, and every day I'm excited about something different. The strategy "work on what's easiest to finish" is sometimes helpful but not always...
ReplyDeleteI'm similar, but since starting Kundalini yoga... I find it so much easier to gravitate towards what makes me happy. I do this by thikning less and listening to my body and connection to the universe, energy, etc. around me. It helps so much doing this yoga. :) I'm in teacher training now and will be teaching free classes once a week and making meditation videos if you are interested in trying sometime. You'll understand when you experience it. Thanks for blogging about this!!
ReplyDeleteThis continues to be a challenge for me. I am a polymath, a word I learned in the last couple of years for someone who develops deep expertise in many different areas. This is something I love about myself, this insatiable curiosity and pursuit of learning, and also I'm envious of people who have a more limited range of passions and interests. It just seems like it'd be easier if I could keep my focus on a smaller set of inspirations and goals.
ReplyDeleteAnd, this confusion about balancing these genuine, passionate interests with the importance and brilliance of rest and relaxation continues to weigh on me. Taking breaks, going on vacations, or even just spending an evening cuddling and hanging out are all challenging options for me to choose. There's always a new interest to pursue, an art project to work on, an event to organize...
Since articulating The Sustainability Cycle, I'm better able to see my Output within the content of the full cycle - Resource (pleasure & play) - Output (work & creating) - Rest (sleep & stillness).
It's still a major challenge for me, but with this framework I can better track what stage of the cycle I'm missing (usually resourcing!) and then feel some motivation and purposefulness in offering myself the gifts of pleasure and play.
And it's always helpful to have people around who help balance out my tendency toward Output. Rest is pretty solid for me too at this point, but Resourcing continues to feel like an unnecessary burden. Will you come remind me to lean in to pleasure and play?