IF YOUR LIFE WAS AN EMPTY BUCKET, WHAT WOULD YOU PUT IN IT?
Our lives don't get complicated overnight.
Complexity creeps up on us, one in-significant step at a time.
It happens gradually.
Today you say yes to an email request,... tomorrow you say yes to a party invitation,...
then you get asked to a quick cup of coffee,... then you decide to be a part of a
project...and on and on.
Before you realize it, you are stuck in a rat race.
Or you look at a news site online,... then a social media site,... then your email,... then you read an
interesting article,... then watch an online video someone sent you,… and on and on.
Before your realize it, your
day is gone and you have accomplished very little. And your to-d0 list just got longer!
One yes at a time, and soon your life is full.
Sometimes...when we get time to reflect...we begin to wonder how we got this busy.
It all starts slowly.
FACT: Our life's are getting eaten away in
minuscule bites! One bite at a time.
How can we avoid this from happening?
Leo Babauta advices us to think of our life as an empty bucket.
FACT: The bucket has limited space. So you have to make choices.
Choices about what is really important to you.
"For me", Leo says, "I might put in some play time and reading time with my kids; coffee
time and exercise time with my wife; some long walks and talks with good
friends and close relatives; work that matters to me and that helps others;
continual learning; and time alone to meditate and spend with my thoughts and a
good book."
He says he would put these things into his bucket because they feel right to him. They are important to him.
Once you have figured that out, you only need to constantly look at things and activities and requests and tasks,
and ask: “Is this one of my bucket items?”
If it isn't, you say no. And that 'no' creates time for something you love.
If it is an item in your bucket, you say yes. And you thereby enrich your life by engaging in what has meaning to you.
And slowly you will de-clutter your life, reduce the complexities of modern living, and fill it with the things that are important and feel right to you.
So, what do you choose to put in your bucket of life?
*Adapted from article by Leo Babauta published on the blog 'zenhabits
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