The calendar may not say it, but all other signs point to it: it’s summertime! Whether it’s the soaring temperatures, the kids being out of school, or the recent Memorial Day holiday, the summer season has come upon us again. So what are your plans for summer break?
I know, there is no summer break in the grown up world. Unless you’re retired, life goes on as usual regardless of the season. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate summer and enjoy the long, warm days. If you’re lucky, you may have vacation time to take a break. If you aren’t lucky (like me) and summertime is “crunch time” for you, then you may have to get more inventive. That’s alright. Happiness is a choice, and a balanced life means that you don’t let circumstances dictate whether or not you get to enjoy this day, season, or heck, your entire life. So how do you choose joy amidst the myriad of responsibilities that won’t let up because of the season?
I have news for you: things will never be perfect. We live in an imperfect world, and there will always be something to show it. Whether it’s circumstances or people being the pain, I think it’s important to have a good life balance so you don’t fall into the trap of letting people or circumstances bring you down. For example, now is my busiest time of year at work. It always will be due to multiple June deadlines, and there’s nothing for it. All jobs have busy seasons and there’s no escape. I can allow myself to be stressed out over it every year and relegate myself to a miserable early summer every year; or I can accept it, do my best, and have things in other areas of my life that I enjoy and look forward to when it’s final five o’clock here. Last year, chose the former. I put personal pursuits on hold so I could rest when I got a chance – and it didn’t work. I was miserable, and I regretted it.
This year, I made a different choice. I decided that my workload shouldn’t dictate decisions I make in other areas of life, and that I could and would enjoy my whole summer, regardless of circumstances. My job is one part of my life. So I’m writing another novel now, which may seem silly to do when things are busy, but I’ve found that being busy actually seems to spark my creativity. I guess it gives the muse more to work with. And I’m not about to let a chance to write another novel go. I love writing, and there’s no reason why I can’t do it.
And, as you saw in my last blog, I’m dedicated to finishing this deck project. The hardest part is done, so it’s a matter of finishing it now because we’re almost there! It’s hard work and requires a bit more “push” in the motivation area, but seeing it come together is encouraging me to bring this emerging dream into reality. I’m proud of our work and what we’ve learned in the process, and I know that we’ll be happy when we achieve the completion of this goal and can enjoy grilling on that deck this summer, and in years to come.
My point is that you can choose to be happy, regardless of circumstances. Too often, we let ourselves get sucked in by what’s putting the most pressure on us at the time. This is why you hear me go on about hobbies and life balance so much. If you want to have joy in life, then you need to have a proper perspective on things. You have to realize how each part fits into making an entire life, and not let one thing have more weight on your soul than it should. Because it will always be something out of whack. That’s life. You can’t help that, but you can help how you deal with it, and realizing the good can help you deal with the bad more effectively – so maybe you’ll find that it isn’t so bad after all.
That’s all today. Have a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend.
Bye!
I know, there is no summer break in the grown up world. Unless you’re retired, life goes on as usual regardless of the season. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate summer and enjoy the long, warm days. If you’re lucky, you may have vacation time to take a break. If you aren’t lucky (like me) and summertime is “crunch time” for you, then you may have to get more inventive. That’s alright. Happiness is a choice, and a balanced life means that you don’t let circumstances dictate whether or not you get to enjoy this day, season, or heck, your entire life. So how do you choose joy amidst the myriad of responsibilities that won’t let up because of the season?
I have news for you: things will never be perfect. We live in an imperfect world, and there will always be something to show it. Whether it’s circumstances or people being the pain, I think it’s important to have a good life balance so you don’t fall into the trap of letting people or circumstances bring you down. For example, now is my busiest time of year at work. It always will be due to multiple June deadlines, and there’s nothing for it. All jobs have busy seasons and there’s no escape. I can allow myself to be stressed out over it every year and relegate myself to a miserable early summer every year; or I can accept it, do my best, and have things in other areas of my life that I enjoy and look forward to when it’s final five o’clock here. Last year, chose the former. I put personal pursuits on hold so I could rest when I got a chance – and it didn’t work. I was miserable, and I regretted it.
This year, I made a different choice. I decided that my workload shouldn’t dictate decisions I make in other areas of life, and that I could and would enjoy my whole summer, regardless of circumstances. My job is one part of my life. So I’m writing another novel now, which may seem silly to do when things are busy, but I’ve found that being busy actually seems to spark my creativity. I guess it gives the muse more to work with. And I’m not about to let a chance to write another novel go. I love writing, and there’s no reason why I can’t do it.
And, as you saw in my last blog, I’m dedicated to finishing this deck project. The hardest part is done, so it’s a matter of finishing it now because we’re almost there! It’s hard work and requires a bit more “push” in the motivation area, but seeing it come together is encouraging me to bring this emerging dream into reality. I’m proud of our work and what we’ve learned in the process, and I know that we’ll be happy when we achieve the completion of this goal and can enjoy grilling on that deck this summer, and in years to come.
My point is that you can choose to be happy, regardless of circumstances. Too often, we let ourselves get sucked in by what’s putting the most pressure on us at the time. This is why you hear me go on about hobbies and life balance so much. If you want to have joy in life, then you need to have a proper perspective on things. You have to realize how each part fits into making an entire life, and not let one thing have more weight on your soul than it should. Because it will always be something out of whack. That’s life. You can’t help that, but you can help how you deal with it, and realizing the good can help you deal with the bad more effectively – so maybe you’ll find that it isn’t so bad after all.
That’s all today. Have a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend.
Bye!
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