If you haven't noticed, 30 Days of Blogs has really turned into more like "30 Blogs in 40 Days" or something similar. [Note to Self: Try, try, try not to take on ridiculously ambitious projects while moving.] Like many projects I start with the best of intentions, my expectations for myself were less than 100% realistic. I fully believed I'd be able to pull this one off, with a day off for Yom Kippur and one or two more around the actual moving day. And like most projects I start, I underestimated both the time and energy I would want/need to dedicate.
The last 10 days have been pretty brutal, stress-wise. Moving is already somewhere on the Top 10 list of the most stressful events a person can experience; and this week I also got to add a broken washing machine and a suddenly-dead cell phone to the list. Add a few other work, family and personal challenges; and mix that in with chasing a toddler around a bunch of boxes and breakable items.... well, you can see why I've come up a little short in the blogging department.
On the bright side, like most projects I start, the 30/30 blog challenge has been a great learning experience. Plus my attempt at reaching the ambitious goal has helped me to be more disciplined and write way more than I normally would've this month. Too often, I think I look at the goal I haven't reached rather than the progress I never would have made if it weren't for that very goal.
This idea reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
Ideals are like stars: you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the ocean desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny. (Carl Schurz)I know most people had this on the wall of one high school class or another -- maybe next to the "teach a man to fish" poster -- but I've always liked it anyway. It's a good reminder that there's nothing wrong with setting crazy-high goals for yourself, because in trying to reach those goals you can get where you're really supposed to go. The hard part is to keep challenging yourself to get closer and closer to the ideal, without beating yourself up when you fall a little (or a lot) short.
That's a fine balance. I struggle with it often; and I know many of my friends and clients do, too. When do you push yourself to go a little further, work a little harder; and when is it time to give yourself a break, shut down the computer (or whatever), put your feet up and just enjoy where you are? I wish I knew the answer or had some formula to suggest. But I don't -- sometimes I push myself entirely too hard and take on way too much; other times I realize that I have the capacity to achieve and give much more than I actually do.
For tonight, I think a good balance means bidding you farewell and enjoying the final scenes of a John Hughes classic. Maybe I'll get motivated to unpack a box. Or not..... Goodnight!
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