“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard
I recently heard this quote, and while on the surface it seems quite obvious, if you internalize the message it can be very powerful.
How do you want to spend your life?
Do you want to spend it feeling frustrated, out of control, or lacking purpose? I doubt it! But in order to live our hours in a way that sums to a life we can be excited about, we have to make conscious choices about what we are, and perhaps more importantly what we are NOT, doing.
Part of this is about taking control of your schedule. But Thoughtfully Fit also encourages you to take control of your emotions, your behavior, your words and your relationships. In this way, we can spend our hours enjoying deeper connections with those around us, and an environment where conflict is managed in a healthy way.
If you want to BE something, you have to do it!
People often say that if you want to be a writer, you have to write every day. In the beginning, most people will still have jobs and other responsibilities, so writing is something that you must make time for. Schedule it in, protect the time, and make it happen. And what happens once you are spending part of everyday writing? Voila! You’re a writer by definition.
So, what do YOU want to be?
A better parent? A CEO? A gardener? Whatever it is, make it part of every day. Think about what you would need to make that your reality, and use your hours on that. This might mean you need to get off social media, resign from a committee, or say no to other things. But if our life is the sum of how we spend our hours, and we embrace the notion that every hour counts, we can live hour by hour into a life we love.
Is it possible to live every hour in perfection? Of course not! And inevitably, some hours are spent on things that we would not want to define our lives, like laundry, commuting, and seemingly pointless meetings. However, if we can learn to be more intentional about both how we show up, and what we show up for, the overall tide of our lives can be one that is calmer and more centered on the people and things that we love.
So, if how we spend our lives is determined by how we spend our days, the key is to choose your days carefully to create a life you love.
