photo: http://www.etsy.com/listing/112192340/circus-acrobat-woman-knife-juggling?ref=market
There are times in my life when things run smoothly. I get through the day with a sense of confidence and efficiency. Things fall into place, I'm the master of time management and I go to bed knowing that I've checked off every item on the "To Do" list. This is not one of those times.
This is a kind of perfect storm cycle of responsibility… like a convergence of planets.. where all my projects and promises come due at the same time. Several images come to mind – a frantic juggler, the target in a giant dodgeball tournament, the waitress with a heavy tray stacked with glasses filled to the top.
The "Nein" challenge was a really interesting one for me, because lately I have been thinking (as I do when I'm in one of these all-things-due-now cycles) that I should probably learn to say "No" MORE often. I should simplify my life. Just say NO. But … I know I won't.
By now, I know myself well enough to know I will always take on a little "too much". I'm grateful to have such a problem – too many opportunities to do things I enjoy. A folder full of ideas for the next project and the next; I'll need two lifetimes to do it all. Part of me must love panic and chaos. Why else would I keep creating it for myself? The other part of me loves to conquer it!
So every once in a while I drop a ball. That's no reason to quit juggling.
Wonderful post Kate. I do feel like just like you a lot of the time, and I think this year is going to be one of those when I wish I could say no occasionally. But most opportunities are too good to pass - like when I said yes to joining Viewpoints 9, even while wondering where I would find the time for it - and I am so happy I said yes, because it is a fabulous group!
ReplyDeleteKate, I relate so firmly with your ability/inability in learning to say 'no' more often…or at all in SOMEONE's case. And, yes, like, Alicia, I am glad I said 'yes' to Martha even though it has added to my own chaos. Thanks, Lisa-Marie. (That 'thanks' might just have a tad of sarcasm within it…introspection is not something I enjoy. As necessary as it is)
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