When we look into what makes our day, our day, most of the time we find routine on top of routine. There are definitely some areas where routine is good. However, as I sat down today to look over all of the to-dos on my notepad, I realized that there were a number of them that were getting pushed to the side because they didn't quite 'fit' into the flow of the day. Or, at least not yet. This got me to thinking. What if those things never 'fit'? If they didn't fit, would they even make it in the grand scheme? As I went over this little conundrum, I went for another cup of coffee, #coffeeaddict, and thought about it as I walked. That little walk brought me to this.
Break The Cycle.
More importantly, break your cycle. Now, I don't mean just throw away everything you do, what I mean is take a look at all of the things that you do on a daily basis, then take a look at all of the things that you keep putting off for another day. Think about those 'put off' things and really let them sink into your mind. If you find that they excite you, inspire you, drive you, encourage you, then they deserve to have a spot in that normal list. If you find that you could take them or leave them, leave them. Now, with these things in mind, take a look at your to-dos. No, I mean take a really good and close look at all of the things in your routine, then ask yourself, ‘What's really necessary?’ Now, the scary part...
... pick one that you think is really necessary, and replace it or move it so you can fit in one of those 'put off' things into its slot. In fact, put it first. Make it a priority. Make it the very first thing you work on today. After you brush your teeth and all of that that is. And coffee. Or non-coffee for all of you on the other side of the fence. Seriously, nothing but love. But you should like coffee.
When you take the time to make something you're putting off until tomorrow a priority today, you'll find that you start to work in new things into your life. We all have a bad habit of pushing things off until they either disappear, or we simply stop pursuing them. If something's come up that we want to do, then there was a reason for it. The cycle of our daily lives are good for production, making it from point A to point B, but when the cycle becomes the unbreakable cycle of our life, it becomes a cage.
Life is meant to be lived, experienced, researched, enjoyed, challenging, rewarding, etc. When it becomes routine on top of more routine, we tend to lose ourselves to the routine. Our identity becomes the routine. So today, I encourage any of you who feel like you're stuck in a rut, in a box, seeing the world in nothing but shades of grey, to take that 'put off' list, knock off the dust bunnies, and find the courage to break your cycle. Let loose some of those ideas, give them priority, and let them filter into your daily life. Don't put off until tomorrow what can be done today. It's a common phrase, but one definitely worth embracing. We don't know if there will be a chance tomorrow, but we know we have this moment. Right now. Let's live it with all that we are.
Justin