Last week would have been easier if I had made different decisions. Certainly, the power was in my hands to choose differently. I didn’t have to enter Progenitor in two writing contests with a May 1 deadline. I didn’t have to enter Metamorphosis for a book review. I didn’t have to set up writing promotion for Move and The Tanger Falls Mystery Box Set for Mystery Week this week. I could have saved myself hours of time after busy days at work by simply saying “no” to those things. But I didn’t. I decided that a busy work week was no excuse to let these excellent promotional opportunities go, and I got out the laptop every night last week to do it anyway, despite being tired.
Rick and I didn’t have to build this deck, either. We could have fixed the steps to the back door, but we got tired of saying “we need to do something with this backyard someday.” So instead of waiting for that elusive day when we could afford to hire it out (which may or may not ever come), we decided to use the money we save on not having a car payment to buy the materials and do it ourselves. Yes, it’s a lot of hard work, but we made the decision to take advantage of this opportunity when the time and money became available.
My point is that we have to own our decisions. You hear people say “I’m so busy!” all the time, but do they admit to and take responsibility for decisions they make that cause this? Sure, there are some immovable objects in our lives that can’t be helped, but more is under our control than we admit to. I couldn’t help having a busy week at work last week. It was what it was, and I had to deal with it. But the stuff at home was completely under my control, and I made an active decision to take advantage of those opportunities. That “busy” was by choice because I wasn’t willing to let opportunities pass, and I don’t regret those choices. Am I tired? Heck, yes, but it was sowing for a future harvest, and I pray that last week’s work will provide benefits into the future.
I think a lot of us are scared to take responsibility for our decisions, because we’re scared of two things: that the work will be harder than we anticipate, or that it will fail. Or worse yet, we’ll do a lot of work for something that fails. But that’s life. You take calculated risks and once the decisions are made, you have to own them. Even if it’s harder than you thought, or it doesn’t go as expected. That’s life. We live and learn and it’s hectic sometimes, but we always gain wisdom no matter what the outcome.
So own those decisions. If you’re busy and you know it, be honest about it. Know what you can control and just do it, darn it. It’s a lot less time consuming and easier than complaining or making excuses.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
Rick and I didn’t have to build this deck, either. We could have fixed the steps to the back door, but we got tired of saying “we need to do something with this backyard someday.” So instead of waiting for that elusive day when we could afford to hire it out (which may or may not ever come), we decided to use the money we save on not having a car payment to buy the materials and do it ourselves. Yes, it’s a lot of hard work, but we made the decision to take advantage of this opportunity when the time and money became available.
My point is that we have to own our decisions. You hear people say “I’m so busy!” all the time, but do they admit to and take responsibility for decisions they make that cause this? Sure, there are some immovable objects in our lives that can’t be helped, but more is under our control than we admit to. I couldn’t help having a busy week at work last week. It was what it was, and I had to deal with it. But the stuff at home was completely under my control, and I made an active decision to take advantage of those opportunities. That “busy” was by choice because I wasn’t willing to let opportunities pass, and I don’t regret those choices. Am I tired? Heck, yes, but it was sowing for a future harvest, and I pray that last week’s work will provide benefits into the future.
I think a lot of us are scared to take responsibility for our decisions, because we’re scared of two things: that the work will be harder than we anticipate, or that it will fail. Or worse yet, we’ll do a lot of work for something that fails. But that’s life. You take calculated risks and once the decisions are made, you have to own them. Even if it’s harder than you thought, or it doesn’t go as expected. That’s life. We live and learn and it’s hectic sometimes, but we always gain wisdom no matter what the outcome.
So own those decisions. If you’re busy and you know it, be honest about it. Know what you can control and just do it, darn it. It’s a lot less time consuming and easier than complaining or making excuses.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
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