Project Happiness Articles — commitment

There's a lot to consider when we're passionate people feeling strongly about ten different things at once - motivation, resources, priorities, time management, etc. I know for me, I find it challenging to balance what's most important, what is calling me loudest and give it sufficient attention, without worrying about what's going to the wayside in the meantime. So lately, I've been thinking seriously about what exactly it is that I want to do. What is it that I want to be working on right now to be where I want to be.

Wellness, contrary to belief, is not just about the absence of illness. There’s more to the quality of our life than simply not being sick, and modern-day living can sometimes make it difficult to remember this. We get stuck in that fast-paced chaos of work, errands, and appointments, and we barely notice how much it drains us, bit by bit, until we’re completely exhausted.

There's a common misconception that you can excel at work or at family life – not both. We tend to think of those people who seem to have it all together as some rare breed of a magical unicorn. We can’t possibly hold ourselves to those standards, can we? It’s an interesting question because it holds both the problem and solution: Standards.

I've developed a simple rule over the past couple of years which initially seemed somewhat self indulgent - and I was sure would need to be knocked on the head after a short time. But two years on, it still seems to work incredibly well. The rule to live by was quite simply to: "Stop doing things I don't love".

Everyone wants balance.  It’s the hottest commodity.  If it were a stock on Wall Street, there would be a run on the market.  If it were a novel, it would be #1 on the best sellers list. We talk about it, look for it, strive to get it, we grab, opt in, opt out, make lists, and struggle to capture this elusive animal we call balance.  So, if balance is a universal desire, and we as human beings are so intelligent, why haven’t we discovered the formula for attainment?

Each year tens of thousands of college students cross a commencement stage somewhere in our nation and begin their pursuit of the American dream. Collectively, they share a single purpose to make it in the “real” world, but individually they have a multitude of pathways to consider.

We all have relationships that fade over time, where someone is more invested than the other. Or times when we begin to want more out of an existing relationship. One of the greatest opportunities to deepen a relationship is sharing how much the relationship means to you and the gap in the relationship you’ve observed.

When we have a fixed schedule that we must stick to, we know exactly what the next step is. There is no more procrastination, and no more lost time. We are fully concentrated on our assignments, since we know that they must be completed. We create a routine that must be respected.

She has room on her plate for her husband and their twin children, her job, and her relatives. Anything more would fall off her plate. 

That’s not how the world works. Nothing comes to you if you’re waiting for it. Nope. You have to get off your chair, move, and go and get it for yourself.