I Just Wanna Live

Over the years, I have come to realize that people don’t become good people by accident. They work at it. They sacrifice some things in order to do others. It seems an obvious thing to realize, but sometimes you just realize that some people are how they are.

There are the super-human, hands in everything people that somehow manage not to burn out and still have time to enjoy themselves and have families and social-lives.

Then, there are the “I never have time for anything because I’m so busy but never really get anything done” people that are a hot mess.

Most of us fall somewhere in between. I’d say that I strive to be as organized as possible so that I don’t become the second person, but I’m pretty sure I won’t ever be over-achiever enough to be the first. I’ve never felt the need to be a do-gooder by nature because I always thought it was too hard. Recycling, being “green”, volunteering, giving blood, sending letters, getting others involved all whilst carrying on with my own life – family (though childless) obligations, having friends, Tri training, and exceeding expectations at work – all seemed like just too much.

Then, as I got older, something miraculous happened – I got smarter! I realized that, when introduced in small increments, many things can be added to your life without feeling like a burden. So, here are two tips:

Volunteering? Do it virtually! I have offered up my help to BecauseYouCanTri.org to help raise awareness as Joe Cantri on Facebook (which is FB approved, btw, for you policers out there). I spend a crapload of time on Facebook anyway – so this is merely taking away time I spend checking my own page. It helps raise awareness in the community for a great cause – and I get to meet other people in the tri-universe!

Too much to do at work? Do one thing at a time – concentrate on that, finish it, and then start something else. Don’t misunderstand: You can multi-task and juggle multiple projects in one day but you can only physically do what you are physically doing at one point in time – so, concentrate on that while you’re doing it. You can’t type two documents at once, talk on two different conference calls. Concentrate on the task, then proceed to the next. Don’t think about the 9 million other things that are out there waiting for you to pay attention to them. True, there’s more where this work came from, but you don’t have to worry about that at this exact moment.

I hope to continue sharing the light that has been shed on my life that is helping me to get myself in order. The tips won’t work for everyone, but they work for me and I believe they hold some value. If you disagree, then you should have used that time that you just spent reading my blog to do something else productive. (By the way, the tips won’t necessarily recommend you eliminate good old-fashioned sitting on the couch staring at the tube – I think everyone needs a little of than in their lives if they enjoy it!)