Sawdust and squeeky wheels.
I wish that I had more space in my life- time for rest and reading, whole days to spend with friends that challenge me a to be a better person, the luxuries of completing projects and doing art. I wonder if my priorities are wrong, but I don’t know how to adjust them. A girl’s gotta pay her bills after all, and long days at work mean little gets done in my personal life except on the weekend.
There is a psychological concept that I can’t properly credit, but it describes Quality World vs. Reality World. One’s Quality World is the basis for decisions- we all seek to meet the priorities of our idealized way of living. The Reality World is the way things really are. For instance, in my Quality World, I might believe that getting an “A” on a paper is the only acceptable grade for me; whereas in the Reality World, an “A” is just one tier of acceptable grades. Our emotions confirm the weight of our Quality World values.
I look at my current schedule, and I wonder what it says about my Quality World. I really believe that the things I am spending time on are worthwhile, but I also feel that I am not doing enough of the things I value.
But actions are clear. My priorities show up in the choices I make each day. I value spending time with my boyfriend or my family more than reading my copy of the New Yorker. I value being busy over being rested. I value my close friends over my yard work. Some are good choices, but they are not absolutes.
If I’m ever going to find that elusive time to meet my other lifestyle goals, I am going to have to have a true change in my Quality World values. Until then, I guess I need to remember that I am living out every bit of my priorities- but I might need to more honest about what those values really are.
There is a psychological concept that I can’t properly credit, but it describes Quality World vs. Reality World. One’s Quality World is the basis for decisions- we all seek to meet the priorities of our idealized way of living. The Reality World is the way things really are. For instance, in my Quality World, I might believe that getting an “A” on a paper is the only acceptable grade for me; whereas in the Reality World, an “A” is just one tier of acceptable grades. Our emotions confirm the weight of our Quality World values.
I look at my current schedule, and I wonder what it says about my Quality World. I really believe that the things I am spending time on are worthwhile, but I also feel that I am not doing enough of the things I value.
But actions are clear. My priorities show up in the choices I make each day. I value spending time with my boyfriend or my family more than reading my copy of the New Yorker. I value being busy over being rested. I value my close friends over my yard work. Some are good choices, but they are not absolutes.
If I’m ever going to find that elusive time to meet my other lifestyle goals, I am going to have to have a true change in my Quality World values. Until then, I guess I need to remember that I am living out every bit of my priorities- but I might need to more honest about what those values really are.
posted by Erin 11:42 PM
2 Comments:
Erin,
I hear what you're saying. Sometimes it seems to hard to get done the things that you really want to do because of things you have to do. It's so easy to say just make free time for those things you love to do, but actually doing that seems so much harder. I struggle with that so often.
Sarah
As my mother said to me, "welcome to adulthood." I have a feeling that life only gets fuller as we have families of our own. How blessed we are to have such full lives and so many things that we want to do and are physically able to do!
Post a Comment
<< Home