Y.O.L.O.
How many activities do you do that you don’t have to? Go on. Count them up. My guess is its more than just a couple. From a very young age, we are encouraged to get involved. Competitive events, sports, and clubs- we dabble in a lot of different past times. Perhaps it comes from our upbringing, or perhaps from a “have-it-all” mindset. Either way, between school and homework and all of these extras, I sometimes find myself running on empty.
Usually I thrive on being busy. I love feeling like a part of things and helping people. Living the experiences in each new activity can be exhilarating! In high school, it didn’t seem like a big deal- every one was involved in everything. Even though I often felt tired, worn out, and just plain overwhelmed, I convinced myself the experiences I was gaining were worth it. In many ways they were, but a recent wake up call caused me to shift my perspective.
Not long ago, I was home from college for a much needed break. It had been a long week of trying to keep up with classes and manage all my activities. I was so thankful to be home where I would have the chance to catch up on things and finally see my best friends from high school who I hadn’t seen for several months. I showed up at my friends house, excited to spend the afternoon with her. We popped in a movie and talked up a storm. But after awhile, I noticed myself beginning to zone out. I was paying more attention to the movie and let my conversation with my friend trail off. I was mentally exhausted, and before I knew it, I was waking up to the movie’s end credits.
My time with my friends who attend a different college than me is very limited. I am lucky to see them about five times a year. And I fell asleep. I was immediately appalled at myself for wasting such precious hours. My friend deserved much more of myself than I was giving her.
When we stretch ourselves thin, we often become obsessed with completing each and every thing on our calendar and to-do list. We don’t know how to stop adding more and more on. When I do this, I find myself thinking I am taking every opportunity I have, and truly exercising my time to my limits. It’s almost like a star athlete just trying to do one more mile.
But when we try to do so many things, we cannot really accomplish anything. We go from thing to thing, not really present in any moment. What we hold dear to our hearts falls off the board. The things we believe in seem to fade into the background because we are addicted to never, ever slowing down.
We cannot contribute because we are so burnt out. We are “there” physically, but not mentally. We can learn to focus on what is important, areas we can make a difference in, not everything we can possibly cram into a 16+ hour day. Don’t lose sight of who you want to be by overdosing on a busy schedule.
As an activity-a-holic, we get so excited when we have just one good meeting that we feel like we contributed to. The truth is, every activity can be like this if we choose not to “zombify” ourselves. Those brief moments of sunshine can happen every day, several times a day, when we choose what is important to us, instead of just rare moments when the sun breaks through the clouds. Being involved is important and can offer us amazing experiences. But if we do not take time to live those experiences, they are wasted.
Now perhaps it’s because I live under a rock, but the term Y.O.L.O. (pronounced yo-low, not spelled out) is a new one for me. I learned it while visiting the South Barber FFA chapter. It stands for You Only Live Once. This phrase is one I want to live by, truly living each moment, because I only get to live it once.
I want to treasure where I am, when I am there;
be with who I’m with, when I am with them;
and sincerely contribute to what I can,
because I have the passion and mental presence to do so.
You can do anything, but not everything. - David Allen
