The average man and woman of today, is running around like a fowl whose head has just been cut off. Looking for daily bread? Likely. Trying to make ends meet? Perhaps. Running after power and position? Maybe. Who is pushing you to do what you do? What is driving you on? Some persons are self-driven. Some others must be pushed to move ahead. Some others are neither self-driven nor do they allow themselves to be pushed forward. Whatever it is, be it a push, self-drive or even a laisse-faire attitude towards life, you are certainly heading to somewhere and for something. You can choose to determine where that destination will be or let others decide that for you.
There are individuals who are extremely busy daily, while others seem to have all the time in the world and wonder what to do with themselves. The busy ones wonder what the hell is wrong with people who are idle. And the idle ones are wondering when on earth they too can be engaged in something productive and rewarding.
Have you experienced this before? Where you have tasks, responsibilities and duties lined up ahead of you, and just at the thought of that, you begin to feel overwhelmed. In the meantime, there are lots of other persons wondering what to do with their time. Personally, I find this fascinating. The question is: What exactly makes the difference? That some are well occupied while others are not sure of what to do with their time.
As You Cloud Your Calendar of Life – Four Points
First, we know that being busy does not necessarily translate to being productive. Busy people need to pause from time to time and check their actual level of productivity. If your work is meeting up with or is adding up towards achieving set objectives and set goals, then there is productivity.
Second, you can do well to delegate more. That other person, so long as they are open and willing, could give a hand in what you are doing. It becomes a learning process too for that person. You will find that every person has something to offer, but that offer needs to be relevant to what you intend to achieve.
Third, there is the issue of feeling overwhelmed with so much work. Sometimes, this may even feel like one is being a slave to others. Then goes the saying that “Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop!” This type of feeling may be coming from feeling overwhelmed with work, seeing others as only doing their minimum, feeling used by the work system, feeling under paid, or feeling unappreciated. A busy person may have these thoughts and feelings regarding their work.
However, my experience tells me that yes real issues may be on ground, but the way you feel about your work at the end of the day is primarily based on what you have told yourself and how you perceive and interpret the actions, responses of and your interactions with others. It all lies within your mind. Others will be who they are, will do what they do and respond to you as they please, but how it affects you all lies in your own mind. This is because what you make of these external stimuli determines how you think and feel about your work situation.
One principle you could work on or live by is, if something does not please you, either change it or adjust yourself to it. It lies in your hand. Complaining, grumbling, and blaming only takes positive mental energy from you, yet you need that to find a solution to your challenge, work out a productive idea or find ways to engage with relevant persons who can support your task.
Have you asked for help? Have you paused to see what the real issues are for you? Have you presented your issues to the relevant authorities? Have you listened to others with a little more objectivity to see where they too stand? Or is it all about what you think and feel about your work situation? It all lies in your state of mind.
Fourth,, seek to gradually get to the place in your life where the things you do, are stuff you really choose to be doing with your life. Yes, there are bills to pay, there are people to impress, there is a reputation to guard, there is just work to be done, and we must keep doing something. Fine. However, as you grow into adulthood and grow older, AIM TO OWN EVERYTHING YOU DO.
Aim to Own Everything You Do
In life we move from the stage of being babies into toddlers, then children, adolescents, teenagers, young adults, and expectedly, mature adults. A major part of adult maturity is the increasing level of owning your own life and determining what happens in and with it. However, experience shows that this is not necessarily automatic. A grown man or woman of 40 could still be very dependent for all sorts of reasons. The idea here is that as you grow older, your peace, joy and fulfillment comes from becoming your own person and engaging life based on your own free will, areas of strengths and from a position of determining what you want for your self and what to do with your time.
As a worker, own your work. Give it your best shot. But also own your time. Work, not as a slave but as a master who knows what she is aiming at. Owning your work serves your self-development, prepares you for future positions and responsibilities and grows your experience and ability to embrace greater opportunities. So, mind your thoughts and what you tell yourself about yourself. Be positive and life will attract positive circumstances and the right people to you.
So, you own everything you do with the state of mind you build around your work, life responsibilities and commitments. I tell those close to me that the day doing a particular good for my family no longer gives me joy, I will not continue doing that good. Yes, you may critic this, but I know that the only way I can truly be a responsible and free adult is by truly owning my commitments as a source of joy and fulfillment..
If you get the point that is being made here, you will understand that pretense, eye-service, trying to impress others, intense focus on your selfish/personal interests, and hungrily seeking relevance and favours do not go with owning what you do. You carry out your work with a bigger picture and a bigger goal (rewarding service to humanity) in mind and not for some passing or trivial benefit.
Owning everything you do means getting to a point where the stuff that cloud your calendar of life are stuff you are happy doing with your time – your life. Yes, your time is your life.
So as you cloud your calendar of life with stuff, aim to own everything you do such that your daily engagements bring you peace, joy and fulfillment. Where this is not the case, we only become slaves and workers aiming at getting a fleeting daily bread, and amassing wealth that others will simply come and scatter.
Together we can… support one another’s meaning for work.
So What You Do Matters!
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