We are in a period of questioning about our ways of lives, our ways of living and doing. The economy is hurting and many of the things we clearly depended on are now no longer dependable. It is a challenging time. It is also a great time to take a look at what you are doing… just to make sure that what you are doing is the best use of you and your time.
As we explore this, i’m going to talk about this in terms of having and developing a Context, identifying and being clear about Resources, understanding and clarifying Relationships, and finally making sure that we are grounded in Reality.
When we started out journey on a different way of living, we didnt go through a step-by-step process… we just “felt” our way… but it did start with Accountability. My wife asked me what was important in my life… i told her that it was my relationship with God, her, raising my boys, and being a contributing member of my community… then she asked me whether or not my calendar would reflect those same goals. nope. didnt. not even close. I had a ton of excuses, but what it all boiled down to was that i was doing my job and getting all kinds of needs met there - success, people coming to me with problems, fixing broken things, lots of thank yous, lots of money, the big house, traveling (mostly work related)… BUT none of those things are things that i admitted were important to me… and, when i was honest and got called on it, i really didnt want those things to be who i was… and that started me thinking…
So, let’s start there. Start with “time”… money comes and goes… but time just “goes”… so where we spend time is a significant descriptor of what is important to us.
Take a look at your calender for 2008… your history… Honestly, count up the number of hours you spent doing things, sleeping, eating, playing, working - with work, make sure that you count your commute, your time there, travel, etc. - but be honest… If 2008 is too much, look at the last 3 or 4 months.
NOW, pretend that where you spent your time is your priority and your goal - what does this review of your calendar say about you?
Write about what was great and exactly “right”… and write about what you would like to do differently in 2009. The goal is to be conscious.