Spinning Wheels

I've been thinking a lot lately about the methods I use to measure myself. Whether it's in my writing, my day job, or my relationships, I have an unwritten rubric against which I measure myself. Did I meet my word-goal for the day? Did I finish my to-do list? Did I accomplish everything asked of me at work? Did I spend enough time with my wife? Lately, it seems, the answer to most of these is no. I've been feeling like a car on an icy road-- the pedal is down and the motor is revving, but the wheels are just spinning against the slick. Any driver who lives in the snow knows that spinning out never helps the tires regain traction, in fact, it just makes the situation worse by solidifying the layer of ice between the car and the road. The best solution is to slow the tires and let the weight of the car bear down on the tires to give them what friction they can, then to use a rocking motion to get the car out from the icy rut.

So, what's this got to do with anything? Well, for me, it means I've got to slow myself down and get some friction between me and the things that are most important to me. I could spend endless days doing meaningless things-- there's always plenty of them-- or I could bear down on the few that actually matter.

Sounds good, right? But how to do it? That's what I want to focus on for next week. See you then.