How to Not Get Caught Up in Life's Everyday Hustle and Bustle and REALLY Live Better

We all have those things in our everyday life that we are responsible for doing…going to work, going to school, cooking, completing projects, running errands, writing, taking kids to activities, saving money, exercising, entertaining, cleaning the house, paying bills and taking care of all of those  many other things we do everyday.  The list goes on and on.

If we have managed to figure out how to do all those things well, it seems to be a natural assumption that we have everything under control.  We are moving in the right direction and will continue to make more and more progress.

Not so fast…that is a conclusion we can’t really arrive at too quickly…what about the alternaview?

The alternaview

The alternaview is that even if you are taking care of your everyday responsibilities and successfully accomplishing those things you have sought out to do, unless you are also devoting a certain amount of your attention and focus to thinking about and doing some of  “life’s bigger things,” you are only successfully completing a part of the picture.

We by all means deserve credit for taking care of our everyday responsibilities and accomplishing things each day.  It takes a lot for us to do so and the immense value that comes from successfully handling our responsibilities should by no means be underestimated.  I mean let’s be honest, there are a lot of people who are not doing what they should when it comes to everyday responsibilities, and if we are continually doing well with this aspect of life, that should be commended.

However, as impressive as that may be, we can’t think it is the complete picture and get caught up so much with what we are doing everyday that it consumes the vast majority of our thinking, energy, focus and attention.  We need to make certain we aren’t so consumed with everyday living and accomplishing things, that we have no bandwidth to devote a certain portion of our attention and energy to thinking about the other aspects of life that also need our attention, energy and focus.

In order to really live up to our potential, we need to be able to devote some serious attention to determining what our answers are to some of life’s bigger questions and focus some of our energy on acting on those answers.  Handling our everyday responsibilities is great and serves a very important purpose…but there is just so much more that is available that we need to tap into.

So, what are “life’s bigger questions” that we need to spend sometime everyday either figuring out or acting on once we feel we have the answers? I am sure you have heard them before…

• What is my purpose?  What ultimately am I meant to be doing?

• Am I learning and growing in the right direction in all aspects as I move through life?

• Am I helping others?

Now, I know there are some people who have perhaps dismissed the importance of these questions in the past and felt they are kind of quirky or mushy-feely (please bear with me if you are one of those people, I promise to end up a place that is neither quirky or mushy-feely). We don’t just ask ourselves these questions as an academic exercise or to prove we are capable of thinking on a “deeper level” (Watch out Socrates! Here I come).  There really is immense value to discovering the answers to these questions and then acting accordingly.  We are able to find the clarity and the guidance we need in order to determine the best direction we need to be moving.

This clarity will also allows us to not get caught up in the hamster wheel of life and directs us to a path where we are continually moving forward and making progress.  We will still successfully manage the affairs of everyday life, but we will not allow them to consume all of who we are.  We will have made the room in our life for focusing on another part of the picture, and that is a part  that we can’t do without.

When you hear people say, “I just feel like there is something missing” or “I feel like I am going through the motions”, 9 times out of 10 it means they are consumed with their everyday life and are not consistently and continually coming up from air.  They probably haven’t discovered how to include time in their day to focus on life’s other aspects.

And, that is why we can’t be so consumed with what we are doing everyday that we aren’t able to devote an adequate amount of our attention and focus to “life’s bigger questions.”  We all need to figure out how to consistently escape everyday from the hustle and bustle of life.  Why on earth would we ever just want to successfully complete only a part of the picture?

How to use this alternaview:

1. Decide Right Now to Make the Time. Make up your mind that you are going to find a way to have time to yourself where you can focus and think through “life’s bigger questions”.  Make it a priority.  Don’t talk yourself out of it because you think you don’t have enough time.  It doesn’t take much. 20-30 minutes a day would be great, but hey, if you only have 10…that is better than nothing.

2. Expand your day by including off times. Find times that perhaps in the past you would not have considered to be useful time…wake up a little earlier, stay up a little later, take a break in the middle of your day.

3. Do it consistently everyday. One time is just not going to really cut it.  You have to make this a habit.

4. Don’t worry about how you are doing. The most important thing is that you just do it.  If you feel like the answers aren’t magically just appearing or it is not helpful…just be patient and continue. In time, everything will fall into place.

5.  Take action. Once you start getting some answers or feel that you need to move in a certain direction, you need to carry through, even if it is only a small step.  All steps count and once you lean in the right direction, everything begins to slowly unfold.

If all we are doing is managing the affairs of our everyday life and focusing on what we have to do, where we have to be, who is doing what, we will never get to a place where we can devote the necessary amount of time and attention to anything else …and therein lies the issue.  These questions and aligning our lives accordingly are just as important (and in many cases even more important) as what we need to take care of.  While we certainly must continue to successfully manage our everyday affairs, we have to also ensure we are devoting the needed focus, attention and energy to life’s other aspects.  It is amazing how much it will change all your experiences and your life…that is the alternaview.

What do you think of this alternaview?  Do you agree?