Photo Courtesy of DonBMinistries.com
I find it amazing the difference between our lives now compared to life 150 years ago. The stories that I’ve heard time and time again from my grandparents about how simple yet hard working their lives were, always amaze me. They did their work during the day, ate dinner, had family time and had zero distractions other than entertainment with the family and then it was bedtime. Their entertainment generally always involved other, as they occasionally went in to town for some entertainment on the weekend or when they could afford it. Now we have laptop computers, multiple social networks that we just HAVE to check and update BEFORE we play with our kids or even do our chores around the house or kiss our spouse goodnight. It has become not just another plate to juggle, but a way of life.
Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m one of those people that can be easily distracted with too many things going on. I am by all means not pointing a finger, but I believe there is a balance of all the things that you have going on. The first thing we need to do is prioritize. Make sure that you have the right plates in your hand before you start juggling. I strongly believe that technology and social networks are truly a wave of our future in business, and can be highly affective in sparking new relationship and building your business or personal brand, but hopefully not at the expense of your family. That’s where I think we get our priorities out of wack! I never was a guy that brought his work home and I’ve been pretty good at leaving that stuff at the office mostly because it was physical work and not social work. Now I have a facebook account, twitter, blog and am helping multiple people with theirs, it’s much harder to prioritize my time. It makes it even more difficult for me cause I am a about all things relational. Not only that, but I have multiple hobbies, such as hunting, fishing, chores around the house and make sure that my family believes that I am not just physically with them, but that I’m mentally there with them as well. This takes a lot of work, but I just have to know the right plates to juggle and at the right time. I don’t have any profound theology on the right thing to do here, but I’m just wanting to spark this thought and make you stop and determine that your priorities are in the right place.
Are you juggling too many plates right now? If so, are they in the right priority? If not, why not?
