The Marble Game

Image from Layoutsparks.com

Happy New Year! 

I lost interest in making "resolutions" a couple of years back.  Maybe it was because it just turned into a giant, impossible to-do list that almost always seemed insurmountable.  (One of my middle names is "I'm-nothing-if-not-ambitious.")  Anyway, this year, instead of listing things I want or need to do, I'm adopting a theme:  energy.  Simply put, it's about evaluating the amount of energy I put into something or someone based on what I can honestly expect back from it/them.  It's not some kind of one-to-one ratio or cold self-interested analysis, but more of a reality check.  If you can't make time for me, why am I chasing you around?  If I'm not excited by what I'm doing or learning or don't have time to enjoy it, why am I doing it? It's gotten a little masochistic over the last few years.

Maybe you've noticed - I have a tendency to have many different things going on at the same time.  I suppose we all do, but last year it damned near killed me/caused a nervous breakdown.  This year I'm seeking sanity and some room to breathe.  In order to facilitate this, I'm adopting a new strategy; I have five marbles that represent different extracurricular activities I can engage in simultaneously, and when I've committed to something (say, swim lessons), that marble is out of commission until the commitment has ended.  When there are no more marbles available, I cannot take on another activity.  (This excludes work and writing.)

It was hard to come up with the number of marbles, and I keep wondering how long it will be before I try to justify adding a new marble (already I have four marbles spoken for).  But it's time for drastic measures.  In the end, I think it will actually allow me to enjoy my life and my friends more, and isn't that what we hope for in the new year?