Today, I spent an hour writing down my marathon training plan in my planner and I spent another hour writing a blog post about it.
Then, I did some inspirational reading.
Afterward, I went back to my planner and erased my plan.
As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, I’ve been doing some soul-searching. And what I’ve learned about myself is that I suck at prioritizing and sticking to what I truly want. I get sidetracked easily.
So, if my dream is to write a screenplay, then why am I prioritizing all this time in my planner for running a marathon? (Especially when I’ve learned that I don’t need to run and run for hours to get the body that I like having. In fact, I don’t need to run at all, but I like running—just not all day…getting sidetracked again.)
My son is going to be in Kindergarten in a few weeks (*heart stops*). My day-job schedule will change then and I will have a couple of hours to myself before my son gets home. Do I want to spend that precious time pounding away at the pavement? Or do I want to have some uninterrupted time to peck away on the keyboard?
Today, I read this: “If you have more than 3 priorities, then you don’t have any.” –Jim Collins
I totally agree with that. I cannot continue to juggle 100 priorities. I cannot continue to say “yes” to everything that comes my way. In the end, it only stresses me out and leaves me stagnant.
So, if I have to choose just a few things in my life that are priorities, then here they are:
- Be with my family. I would love to have more un-hurried time to just BE with my family. My son told me last night, “I always want to hang out with you, Mom.” How long will he feel this way? One of my favorite things to do is to go on new adventures. But they are so much more fun with my loved ones. I want to do this more. And I also want to have days where we just sloth around in our PJs.
- Write a finished screenplay. (Finding out what my passion is and figuring out a way to make a living doing it.) Last week, I had some time to think and write and think and write about this, and it helped me identify what I love to do: make people laugh. And then I had to think about how to do that, and how to do it in what sounds like the most fun way, which is how screenwriting came about. I need to work toward that goal or I will never know if “I coulda.”
- Work. Unfortunately, this is a necessity-priority. I don’t really want to make time for it, but I do like bringing home a paycheck. Since going to work takes up so much in my day, and since I don’t get paid if I don’t show up, it has to be a priority.
So why the hell am I not prioritizing the time for writing?
For one thing, running gives me instant gratification. I run, then enter the mileage in DailyMile. Wow. Look what I did today! Writing, on the other hand, is not instant. I’m constantly editing and rewriting, and so it feels like I’m just treading water. I need to practice patience.
And then, there’s this: For a long time, “losing weight,” “getting into shape,” “running that marathon,” those were taking up that Priority #2 spot. But I’m done with that now. Lost the weight. The marathon was a bucket-list item. And maybe life will change and I’ll have more time to run another 26.2, but right now it’s not something I want to prioritize into my schedule.
What I’m saying here is that I will not be running the fall marathon I signed up for. And I won’t be running the half I’d verbally agreed to run. I will be running, but only when and for how long I desire at that particular time.
I also think I will take some time away from this blog. If I feel I want to share a story in a public way, I may write more at my original blog, Sanity Department—which is a place where I can just brain dump on whatever.
This is a big decision. I started Mom vs. Marathon in 2009. I’ve built a little world around this blog, and on Facebook and Twitter. But MvM also takes time away from accomplishing my new priority. I have a bad habit of making it a priority when it shouldn’t be. Time is precious. It goes by fast. I have to focus my time on my top 3 priorities.
I haven’t decided completely what to do with the Mom vs. Marathon Facebook page. Right now, I am thinking I’ll keep it because I still plan to work out and run, and I like connecting with other people who love running and fitness.
Twitter. I love Twitter. My mind is random and I enjoy jotting down some of my random thoughts. I also like discovering interesting articles and seeing funny stuff on there. So, I still plan to Tweet. I suppose I should change my Twitter handle, though, to my name instead of @momvsmarathon. Thoughts/advice on this?
I feel as though a weight has been lifted off of me. I am excited to GET FOCUSED!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has come along on my journey and shared their experiences here. I have loved connecting with you on this blog. I hope you will find me on Facebook and/or Twitter.
And good luck to you on whatever your dreams may be!
(PS: Do you also struggle with focus and priorities? This is a great article on creating time and focusing on your goals. Reading insight from Jill Coleman at JillFit.com has really helped me, and in more ways than “getting lean.” Check it out.)
Okay. Peace.
8 comments
That is a big decision!! I’m sure it wasn’t an easy one, but good for you, for doing what you need to do. So many of us just continue down the path we think we should be on, without re-evaluating our priorities.
I hope you continue your blog, because I really enjoy reading it 🙂
Congratulations!! I, too, have changed my priorities for the coming year to include time to write- chose to work half-time instead of full, which I feel lucky to be able to choose… I’ll work on finishing the novel I’ve been working on. Writing as a priority is indeed very different from fitness goals. It sucks time in a totally different way. But you GO! I love this blog too, love your spirit and humor, but I’ll find your writing on your other blog, and enjoy every minute reading it. Thanks for sharing!
I will miss your blog but am even more excited about your priority #2! I can’t wait to see what your fantastically creative & witty mind comes up with. I just hope that you find a way to mix in some T-junior-isms. Those are priceless! Run training or not, though, I still think you should do Santa Runs Tacoma 5k every year, even as a walk, because it’s such a nice pre-holiday event 🙂
xxoo
I’ve been struggling with the same thing. I’ve realized marathon training is not a priority for me either. I just don’t have the heart to put in the time when there are other things I’d rather be doing. I’m seeing this a lot with the circle of people I became quite close to over the past few years. All of us seem to be moving on a bit yet struggling to break away from something that was so important to us for quite some time. Like anything, it’s a cycle and the running urge with new goals and desires may come back but for now, it’s a bit more in moderation for me as well.
Good for you for taking the time and energy to figure this all out! Godspeed! As someone who just dropped her firstborn off for her sophomore year of college, I totally get the wanting to focus on family first. You will never regret that.
WOW, just WOW I think you hit the nail on the head for so many people. Myself included!! I realized like you last week that I was putting far too much time in to things that weren’t getting me where I wanted to go. But your insight about running is so true, instant gratification!
Such a great post. It is so important to check and re-check our priorities and see if they are lining up with our goals and dreams. My husband is exceptionally good at this. He has a mission statement posted next to his bed and he basically sticks to it. I on the other hand have a tendency to say “yes” to too many things and want to be good at all of them, then get stressed out when I don’t measure up to those expectations. Thanks for a great reminder to stay TRUE. And be able to say “No.” Even to the good things.