Think about your daily routine for a moment.
For me it’s turning off my alarm, laying in bed and thinking about all I have to do for the day as the dog starts walk all over my face until I get up to let him outside.
From that point on, it’s a rush.
Rushing to eat the bowl of cereal I’ll have for breakfast, rushing through traffic on my way to work, rushing to my morning meeting. And from there, rushing to get my work done so I can rush home and make dinner.
I’m constantly trying to stay one step ahead so I can move onto the next task in my daily routine.
And it’s not just me, it’s become the norm for our society—measuring our success by the check marks on our to-do lists.
We’re made to believe we can do it all, be it all, full time workers, parents, partners, best friends, children all while keeping the house clean. The world expects us to or we’ll never get it all it done.
But when do we ever get to the end of that infamous list? And at the end of the day, what do we get? Are we blissfully happy with where our lives are at? Have we accomplish enough things our to-do lists that our lives are now complete?
I’ve attempted to do it all, and even then it’s still not enough.
I took AP credits in high school so I could graduate college early. From there I entered my career early so I could get a jump on climbing the corporate ladder. And as modern working women do, I expected I’d inevitably find my dream man and start growing our little family.
All sounds perfect, doesn’t it?
But it’s not.
I’ve realized that if I continue this way I’m going to rush my way into my golden years from there into my grave and whatever afterlife lies beyond.
By rushing every moment of our lives, we’re blinded to what’s actually going on in front of us. We’re one step ahead of ourselves stumbling into the potholes in plain-view.
It causes us to make mistakes. We miss the little things that can turn into big things, if we’re not careful.
If you’re like me, that can mean spilling coffee into your lap and as you knock your cup over trying to pick up the phone that started to ring. Or it can mean much bigger things, like rushing your relationship to the next level, instead of seeing the signs that your partner shares.
Either way, you end up with a mess.
We don’t just wake up one day with these massive problems; it’s the little snarls that turn into big knots that become difficult or sometimes even impossible to untie.
So take the time. Notice the little things. Don’t rush.
If you do, you’ll miss the potholes right in front of you. And the truth is, if you rush through life, you’re going to spend more time fixing mistakes you probably could have avoid in the first place, with scarred up knees show for it.
Author: Michelle Madaras
Editor: Renée Picard
Image: Georgie Pauwels at Flickr
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