You Need to Get Your Shit Together

Photo Credit: http://www.careercontessa.com

You need to get your shit together.  I surveyed my surroundings and took stock of my current state of affairs.  I worked to compose a response, but I had none.  The speaker of this proclamation was speaking the truth, and I knew it, because I was the one who uttered the words that now hung in the morning air.

I said this statement upon waking up, and I said it to no-one other than myself.  I said it for no particular reason, other than it was the first thing that popped into my mind and then out of my mouth.  While it seemed like a random thought, I immediately recognized it as something that has been waiting in the wings for its cue to take center stage.  In the silence of the early morning hours, that pervasive thought stole the spotlight, and I was a captive audience.

On the outside, I do have my shit together.  My home is clean and organized.  The bills are paid, in full and on time.  I take good care of my daughters.  I work hard.  I work out.  I do my best to be the best version of myself.  I make mistakes and strive to learn from them and not repeat them.  I give a lot of myself to the people I care about and love.  I am, and do, all of these things and so much more, and the reality and the illusion is that I have my shit together.

The reality is that I do have my shit together on a day-to-day basis, as I deftly navigate my daily routine and decimate my ‘To Do’ lists.  The illusion is that I have my shit together when it comes to those hopes, dreams, and goals that often get shoved aside to make way for all those ongoing responsibilities that never end.  Lately, I have realized that as long as I always have something to do on the outside, I never will have the time and energy for anything on the inside.

Those inside things used the words of You need to get your shit together to get my attention, and it worked.  These things make up the life I envision and desire for myself, and while I trust that there is a lot going on behind the scenes, so to speak, that will bring these things to fruition, I also know that I have to do my part to make them happen.

I took some steps toward getting my shit together, which felt energizing and empowering.  I know that I cannot be a weekend warrior of sorts when it comes to those inside things that mean the most to me, yet garner the least amount of my attention.  Just like I have routines to manage my ongoing responsibilities, I am in the process of devising routines for the inside things that allows me to pursue them actively, not just when I have some free time.  Because the reality is that there are more than enough practical matters at hand to keep me busy until the day that I die.  The other reality is that I don’t want to take my last breath not having pursued these seemingly impractical matters.

I am re-evaluating what I know I need to do, yet don’t, and what I know I need not to do, yet do.  It’s as basic as making and taking the time to write the stories that make up my life and to read material that inspires me and offers a different perspective to my own views about life and the world around us.  It’s about spending less time numbing out with social media and television, which are the ultimate time suckers, and it’s about spending less time doing things that take me further from myself and from my ideal life.  It’s nothing earth shattering or complicated at all, but when I create and participate in these routines, life, my life and those lives that touch mine, begin to shift and change for the better.

So, do I have my shit together?  Not entirely, but I am closer today than I was yesterday, and that’s progress that I embrace and celebrate.

That’s another story . . .

 

 

 

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Categories: That's Another Story

Tags: balance, dreams, goals, Routine, that's another story, You Need to Get Your Shit Together