I am always a woman on a mission.
I like to be effective, efficient and productive. I'm the kind of person who goes to clean a dish and ends up cleaning the entire downstairs. I can't help it. Once I feel a little productive, I greedily want to feel more productive.
This can be a really great quality when you want to keep up with housework or complete work projects. Yes, in those ways it is good. Until you realize this motivation to be effective, efficient and productive spills over into most other areas of your life. And in those areas, it can become a detriment.
Whenever I leave the house, I'm on a mission: to grab all the essentials, to get the girls out the door and to do it all efficiently and on time. With two little whirlwinds who dilly-dally and need help with shoes and coats, this is quite an achievement. When I host dinner, I like everything to go smoothly, from serving to clean up. But I get antsy just leaving the dishes in the sink. Because that wouldn't be productive.
When you are on a mission, every outing becomes a quality check on efficiency, my day is a run down of schedules, and every chore becomes a polished routine. That even my kids and husband become a list of To-Do's to check off.
And soon you realize that you're forgetting to just be.
I like to be effective, efficient and productive. I'm the kind of person who goes to clean a dish and ends up cleaning the entire downstairs. I can't help it. Once I feel a little productive, I greedily want to feel more productive.
This can be a really great quality when you want to keep up with housework or complete work projects. Yes, in those ways it is good. Until you realize this motivation to be effective, efficient and productive spills over into most other areas of your life. And in those areas, it can become a detriment.
Whenever I leave the house, I'm on a mission: to grab all the essentials, to get the girls out the door and to do it all efficiently and on time. With two little whirlwinds who dilly-dally and need help with shoes and coats, this is quite an achievement. When I host dinner, I like everything to go smoothly, from serving to clean up. But I get antsy just leaving the dishes in the sink. Because that wouldn't be productive.
When you are on a mission, every outing becomes a quality check on efficiency, my day is a run down of schedules, and every chore becomes a polished routine. That even my kids and husband become a list of To-Do's to check off.
And soon you realize that you're forgetting to just be.
It has occurred to me recently that I've become too caught up in "my mission." I've become to hung up on getting places on time, with kids who are dressed in clothes that remotely match and shoes on the right feet. I let the clutter too easily get under my skin. That at the end of the day, I'm looking at the clock to make sure we're on schedule instead of enjoying a few last snuggles with my kids.
I need to let go of the mission, friends.
I'm reminded of a placard I saw once when I worked at a local card store. For whatever reason, it caught the eye of my 20-something year old self. And the simple words have stayed with me ever since:
It's time, friends.
It's time to let go of the Mission. To ease up on the need to be product, to be efficient, to be effective. Because schedules and to-do lists can wait. The clutter on the counter won't do you in, and the errand you want to run tonight can wait until tomorrow.
Because the beautiful moments of life, the snuggles and autumn breezes and warm meals with people you love, cannot wait. They are fleeting moments that you will appreciate too late, left to spend the rest of your life chasing them like leaves in the wind.
Take time from the doing.
Today, enjoy being.
It's time to let go of the Mission. To ease up on the need to be product, to be efficient, to be effective. Because schedules and to-do lists can wait. The clutter on the counter won't do you in, and the errand you want to run tonight can wait until tomorrow.
Because the beautiful moments of life, the snuggles and autumn breezes and warm meals with people you love, cannot wait. They are fleeting moments that you will appreciate too late, left to spend the rest of your life chasing them like leaves in the wind.
Take time from the doing.
Today, enjoy being.
~~~~~
