The Choices We Make

I have to ask forgiveness especially during the month of April for not blogging more.  Between dance, tumbling, art, wrestling, magazine (and I do the work of about 5 normally paid positions for any other business!), working out, bathing and feeding kids, caring for my husband who just had knee surgery, the attempt on most nights to sleep, my own personal home work with college, my civic duties and my personal religious callings, ohm and when I can find the down time, an attempt at sleep....well you can tell April is HORRIBLE!  I call it my hell month because this is, for me at least, the very worst month of the year for being busy.  No, not even Christmas can hold a candle to end of the school things my kids and I are involved in.

 
 

Yes, I will admit, I must place the blame on myself for being SO busy, but at the same time, I am a firm believer in keeping my kids involved while they are younger (11, 8, and 5 years-old) so that when they are bigger, they will understand not only the value of work, but also how to use their time properly in order to accomplish things and how to more importantly prioritize things.

 
 

Learning how to prioritize is a really hard thing for people to learn.  It is DEFINITELY a learned skill.  Even I struggle with how to prioritize things in my life because I find it is REALLY easy to use this as an excuse to procrastinate or even to simply forego doing certain things.

 
 

It sucks when work pulls me away from my family.  But as an adult, I have to simply grin and bear it sometimes because that is the responsible thing to do.  On the other side of that coin however is the argument of taking care of one's self properly!

 
 

Learning how to maintain a balance in one's life is skill that is difficult to master for I feel that so many of us are also bound by our emotions and desires to please others and gain their acceptance.  How many times have you been asked to do something AND SAID YES, even though you really didn't want to do it?

 
 

I know I have.  Learning to say no is another skill that fits in with the ability to properly balance your life and prioritizing your chosen activities.

 
 

I had my sister call me tonight and ask me to go running.  I wanted to say yes SSSSOOOO badly, but I also knew that I had a commitment to the magazine to post the featured photo of the week on our website, just like I have the responsibility to run a load of laundry so my children and I can have clean clothes to wear tomorrow, just like I need to get the table cleared off and the dishes ran tonight, just like I needed to finish my last 2 assignments for this Spring semester of college, just like I needed to stop and just RELAX for a few moments because my body is screaming in pain at me because of my PMS cramps!

 
 

Do you see my point?

 
 

None of those activities I listed above are any less important than the next BUT how do I chose what to do?

 
 

Well for me, I have come to realize that there will be times that my life is simply NOT BALANCED!

 
 

Oh my goodness, did I say it?  Yes, I did!  I said it!  MY LIFE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE BALANCED AND WILL HAVE TO SAY NO OCCASIONALLY TO BOTH THINGS I REALLY WANT TO DO AND THINGS THAT I DO NOT WANT TO DO (even if I feel a obligation to do it anyways!).

 
 

And why do I know that my life will not always be balanced, well it is because of one of my favorite quotes in the whole world:

 
 

"Short Term Sacrifices for a Long Term Gain!"

 
 

I learned this saying when I was a director with Mary Kay Cosmetics years ago.  Yes, I did sell Mary Kay and I was quite successful at it.  However there reached a time in my life when I needed to transition onto something else so that I could grow further into the woman I am meant to become.

 
 

The reason why I loved this quote so much is because it reminded that there are going to be days when my house is messy!  There are going to be days when I do not make it to the gym, or even out for a run with my sis!  There will be days when I have to forego that next chapter in my book, or a shooting expedition with my family, or even a weekend pheasant hunt because I need to do something else in order to try to make things better for me and my family!

 
 

So how do I know when to forego one activity for another, honestly, it is a case by case analysis.  Some days I will knock off work early and get my kids and tell them it is ok to skip dance and tumbling and hang out in front of the TV with me just for down time.  Some days, I will forego sleep in order to be able to deliver upon a commitment  I have to a client at work and I will stay up all night if I have to (YES, I have done it on more than one occasion!) in order to prepare a presentation for them that will hopefully meet or beat their expectations.  Some days, I will forego even a run if my body is so worn down that it is not functioning properly in order to avoid injury of both mind and body!

 
 

But then there are some days when I am on top of the world and everything clicks into place EXACTLY the way it should...I REALLY wish I had more of those days, but until then, I will be happy as I learn day by day to take care of myself so I am then able to be better at EVERY single other aspect of life and career.

 
 

Hopefully this makes sense to you.  Do not however use this as reason to NOT fulfill any obligations that you might have to others.  I do occasionally have to reschedule, BUT only if things are truly beyond my control.  I feel it is important to keep yourself busy for I truly do believe that "Idle Hands Are the Devil's Workshop!".  And it also has a tendency to allow you to pull yourself down into a place where it is hard to keep a positive mental attitude.

 
 

Your own mind is not only your greatest ally, but your deadliest weapon when it comes to self inflicted wounds.  Make sure you are feeding it what it needs to stay strong!

 
 

IF YOU THINK YOU, YOU CAN!!

 
 

Talk to you soon!

Michelle 4-19-2009