Time to Prioritize, Again

September 15, 2016 matt 88 Comments

I’ve had good streaks of posting content on this blog…and bad. It’s always been my goal to have this be a place to voice my opinion and thoughts and to document who I am day by day. To be able to look back over a body of work and see how you evolve is very intriguing to me.

I blame busyness for the lack of personal writing. You know, stuff like working to make money, my son, social and work events, my marriage, my other blog focused more on my business stuff, and all the little things we fill our days with as we careen through life. As much as I tell people that I’m “busy”, I tend to also be the type of person to call bullshit on that.

Busyness is our own fault. If we have gotten to a point where we are too “busy” to do the things that matter to us, well, maybe we’re doing this thing called “life” wrong. Each one of us gets the same 24 hours in a day, and we dictate how those 24 hours go. You can argue with me over that and keep coming up with excuses but you know it’s true.

So, I’m here to admit that I have been horrible at prioritizing over the last year or so. Instead, I’ve made excuses as to why some things don’t get done. Recently, I re-committed myself to working diligently on those issues. This is, after all, my one and only life. There are certain things that I must do in order to maintain a more peaceful and healthy body and mind. Those things should be priorities…always.

As you know, I live with depression and social anxiety. One thing I have done for my physical and mental health for the past couple of years is commit to working out six to seven days per week. That involves going down to my garage and working out for an hour or two.

This has become a habit in my life, and on days I do not work out, I tend to feel like crap. Still, I felt there was something missing. Through conversations with myself, conversations with my wife, and a conversation with a friend of mine… I realized the thing that was missing was that I stopped writing (for me personally or for this blog) regularly. It was no longer a priority. With that said, while I need to write and I’ve always written for me, I miss writing when I have something to say.

Getting back to writing regularly feels like a rebirth. I believe my story matters, and many of you do as well. I saw it happen when I wrote about depression and miscarriage. Those writings received many comments and private messages thanking me for my words.

And that’s the thing — we all have stories that we can share with the world — with the hope that it resonates and shows people they are not alone in how they feel.

What it boils down to is this. We need to learn that prioritizing the things that matter…matter. The excuses we make that lead us to misery or to a “less happy” existence are ridiculous. No matter what is on your plate, you must carve time out for the things worth living. For the things that make you whole. And for me, it’s knowing who I am and knowing what I need to feel whole. Working out. Writing. Photography. My family. My friends. The ocean. Oh, and adventures in our Jeep.

What’s one thing you would make more time for?