Everything we do has a cost attached to it.
Every interaction, every meeting, every yes, every no. All have costs associated with them. Whether they be a cost in time, energy, financials, focus or all of the above – there will be a price to pay.
The rub is that not everything we do necessarily has a benefit attached that will be meaningful to us.
There is a danger we can whittle away our days on tasks that have little real benefit to us directly, or those we care about. We can run our entire lives on other people’s schedule and priorities. This can be a high price to pay. Nevertheless, it’s a loop that is easy to get caught in. We get compromised into following someone else’s path and agenda, not our own. This is never likely to lead to a happy outcome for us.
Taking Control Back
To live intentionally, we can reduce those tasks that offer us little back and ensure our focus is on areas that do give back. This may sound selfish, it isn’t, as very often the benefit in question can be a benefit to others we care about. We can be focused and be a good person, they are not mutually exclusive traits.
We can say no to late nights and weekends in the office, to fix a problem someone else caused, so we can spend quality time with our family and friends. So we can turn up for family time fully present and engaged.
We can say no to meetings that are overlong, unproductive and we have nothing of value to add to, so we can use our time more constructively at work. So we can get more done and be more effective.
We can commit to leaving white space in our schedule to make time for our loved ones and passion projects.
We can say yes to new adventures that support our goals and dreams.
We can live our lives intentionally, with a positive energy, to support ourselves and those we care about – in the best way we can.
To a large degree, we get to decide what the cost and benefits look like in our lives, let’s choose wisely.
Frictionless News:
My latest book is out now. This one is for writers and creatives (or want to be writers/creatives), about the process of creating. The book is part of a wider mission to help encourage people to free themselves up to create their best work.
Another book project will be following in coming months that will be more aligned with my usual writing on simplifying and positive habit building. More news on that soon.