‘Too freakin’ easy.’
Three words I said as I lead our newly-named (and briefly) horse, Bullseye, from the paddock after taking the blue ribbon in the fancy dress as Woody, with my little sister aboard the four-legged muscular and vein-riddled beast dressed as Jessie on Friday.
Shout out to my mum for the costumes.
It was her first legit day of competition at the 146th Annual Milton Show (yep, 146th — the first one was held way back in 1869), and even though it was indeed a “normal” work day and I had to cancel clients that day and the next to be there, I wouldn’t of missed it for anything.
She took home a myriad of ribbons in events ranging from simple things like ‘Best Presented’ to more challenging ones like ‘Pairs’, which was so cool to see. Our whole immediate family showed up to watch, too. Which is what, I believe, it is all about.
RELATIONSHIPS
How important are they to you? I think above all, family has got to come first. In every area.
I mean, think about it, what else are we doing the things we do every day for, if it hasn’t got anything to do with anything coming under the category of relationships?
All the hours we work, all the workouts we do, all the freedom we chase, all the things we do, it all seems to fall back on two human traits that have been with us for a long time: Recognition and companionship.
Now, on Friday, I of course felt bad that I canceled my clients’ coaching sessions, but I would never regret my choice to drive two and a half hours and watch my little sister compete.
Lookin’ like a pro.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU?
I always think of this kind of stuff. It’s a hard question to answer. But when you really think about it, ask yourself: What do you find value in? Is it money? Freedom? Is it impressing your friends or colleagues? Catching up on TV shows so you don’t miss out on that trending topic at the coffee machine next week?
I spoke of four categories that I believe are perfect to think about when assessing where you are in life, and where you want to go, last week. But in case you forgot (or missed that one), they were your body, your relationships, your work, and your hobbies/interests.
Finding a drive for a change in direction or an improvement in an area of your life can be activated by assessing each of those areas in-depth.
For me, this year, I am making sure to pay attention to my relationships. To not miss out on family time. To take any and every chance I get to visit them. It might seem ridiculous, but it’s an area that can be taken for granted by so many people when they invest so much time into the other three – me included.
TRY IT YOURSELF
Choose a category, assess where it’s at currently (ie. your current relationships), think about where you would like it to be (ie. level of communication, face-to-face time, etc.) and even compare it with an ideal person or thought (ie. who do you know that has a large group of friends or family members that they always keep in contact with?).
This – while it may seem stupid at first – can be one insanely-good method for setting yourself up for a proper plan with a clear path to getting there.
You can probably agree with me that when we get stuck in a rut, it’s always so easy to stay in it. But just by giving an area of our lives a couple of minutes of thought, we can get a little more clear with the direction we want to take, and execute on that.