What I’ve Learned
I have been quite busy these past few months, both personally and professionally. A good busy, and a busyness that, for the most part, I have chosen. I’ve learned a lot, and grown tremendously. In this post, I want to share with you a few of the things I’ve learned (or been reminded of) in the last couple months.
The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing. There are many important things in our lives. Health, for example, is incredibly important. All we have to do is look around us to see those who are in poor health, and the effect this has on people’s lives. Health tends to be something that we take for granted, until our good health is compromised. It is also something that we can control, to a large extent, through our lifestyle.
People are also important. Both personally and professionally, people have a huge impact on our lives. I am thankful for the people in my life – my family, my friends, my coaching clients, and everyone who reads my articles…like you!
I realized recently that what is most important today may not be as important tomorrow. Our lives are changing, and evolving. Today, some business issues might be “the most important thing”, requiring our focus for a time. Next week, it might be a project at home that demands attention. Or, it could be a family situation. Whatever it is, the most important thing is to focus on whatever is most important.
The next thing I learned, and had to come to terms with, is that you can’t always do everything at once. For goal-oriented super achievers, this is a tough lesson. The supplemental lesson here is that, even if you are able to do lots of things simultaneously, sometimes it’s better to focus on the one or two most important things. The quality of the experience is richer. That doesn’t mean you can’t have many projects in various stages of development. But it means that, to the extent that you choose to focus your time and attention, it behooves you to do so.
I learned that life doesn’t always go the way you plan it but, regardless of what happens, I am and will be okay. The world is rapidly changing, in so many ways. As one person stated, the only constant is change. Some of these changes are desirable, and we would prefer that others not happen. We can’t control a lot of the changes taking place. But we can control our response to those changes.
I learned that balance is relative, and changes. I don’t believe in a perfectly balanced life. Rather, I believe that we juggle the important areas of our lives, in an attempt to be as “balanced” as we can. At times, our careers demand our focus and resources, to the detriment of exercise, for example. Later, we are given opportunities to focus exclusively on our family. If, as we take a step back to evaluate the important areas of our life, we conclude that things are “pretty much in balance”, then they probably are.
I was reminded that personal development is a lot easier to write about than it is to do. It’s a little easier to not do the things I know I need to do than to do them. Most of the time I’m pretty disciplined, and occasionally I struggle. Part of the value for me in writing is that I get to remind myself of the things I want to be doing – the things that are good for me, and the things that bring tremendous value to my life, my family and my business.
