We have all run into people who have real trouble with commitment. And NO I don’t just mean men about marriage. I find the ones even more irritating that say YES to a goal or project but only last a week or so before being no longer committed. Even more frustrating are the passive aggressive types who keep saying yes but never do any work on the goal or project.
We all sometimes commit to too much and we have to withdraw. It is perfectly acceptable to explain your reasons once you see the error of taking on the assignment in the first place. This is the adult way of handling the escape.
But let’s look at the mere fact of a belief that you could never be over committed. What a thought! There is that saying that “it is best to give a job to a very busy person because they will get it done”. This holds true because that “very busy person” is usually brilliant at TIME MANAGEMENT.
I love the concept that we all have as much time as President Obama or Beyonce. That means that each of us has 24 hours in a day. What we do with those hours is our choice. Even more importantly, lawyers sell their time. Even those lawyers working for a set salary, work for a certain number of hours every day producing results which are services, not products. How they arrange those hours results in what they produce.
Always being fascinated with the Renaissance, I have trouble equating how little new ideas, art, music, etc. we produce today with what they were able to produce during that time period. How could Michelangelo paint, sculpt, invent, design architecture and do all the things he did in the same amount of time that we have today? And what about Napoleon who as commanding an army at 19 years old? Do you think either of those two felt over committed?
Let’s take a look at your life. Sure, you probably played a lot more and have a better life balance than these two gentlemen but what more could you have accomplished if you had better organized your life? Someone said (and I don’t remember who) that a life unexamined is a life not worth living. That’s a little harsh but I would challenge you to take a few minutes each day to examine your life.
- Are you doing what you want?
- Do you have growth goals in place?
- Are you taking care of yourself?
- Are you doing important things?
That’s your job this week. Next week we will look at how each of us might find a better way of organizing or live so that we, too, can create extraordinary results. What FUN!