Every moment of my life involves a trade-off. My life is a fixed pie (sort of) and whenever I decide to do something with my finite time I am also deciding not to do other things. I often don’t think about it in these terms, but maybe I should.
When I spend ten minutes on Facebook I am choosing not to read one of the dozens of unread books on my shelf.
When I watch The Office for the hundredth time I am choosing not to go for a run or exercise.
When I play Civilization IV I am choosing not to write my book or blog posts.
(Or I’m choosing not to create art, generate income, further my education, meditate, practice martial arts, rake the yard, cook dinner, call my siblings, volunteer around town, donate blood)
Every minute I choose to do something I am also choosing not to do a thousand things. So, are my choices in line with my goals and values? Are they pushing me towards the person and places I want to be, or encouraging me to be static? Are they good for my health (mentally, physically, socially)?
Maybe I should try and evaluate my choices a little more explicitly instead of being on auto-pilot. My life needs constant examination as myself and my circumstances change. I don’t want my time to be wasted, even if I’m the only one affected by the waste.
Wandering Oak 