My Worst Enemy: Obligations

I guess it is very normal and human to feel the way that I currently do. So little time, so much to do. A big chunk of that "so much to do" is obligations. Going to class/work, getting your work/homework done, going to your internship, picking up groceries, running errands, making a to-do-list, attacking that to do list...even thinking about them is exhausting, isn't it? And we also have "so much to do" that are not obligations...seeing friends, family, reading, watching tv, going to a show, going out, dancing...Sometimes it is impossible to accept that days are 24 hours, weeks are 7 days long. At  least to me...In the meantime, we are constantly thinking, and hopefully creating. That is the most satisfying part of life to me, those moments of creation. Everyone has their own definition of what "creation" means, and unfortunately, I do not have the time to explain what mine entails. After all, I do too have "so much to do".

What is interesting to me is that not all the parts of the "obligatory" things that we do are for survival. It is us who decides how important, needed and urgent those things are in our "to do lists". Ok maybe not the groceries, but is it life or death if we do not hand in that 5 page paper? We chose to make those obligations important, and stressful. What if, we decided to cherish those obligations? I know, it is much easier said then done, but wouldn't that be miraculous? To say "I chose to be a grad student, I knew it would mean always having something to do, and I can quit at any time I want to! But I love my choice" has to be so empowering. So it all comes back to that sense of "control" that I was talking about before. We love feeling in control of what is happening in our lives (well again, maybe I shouldn't speak for all Homo sapiens, most of us do).

My "TO DO LIST" has 6 sub-categories. It is a monster. I wanted to write something, and have a draft that I started working on 2 weeks ago actually. But because I had those obligatory things pressing, I felt bad working on that draft, and felt bad about publishing the draft without being completely satisfied with it. Today I attacked that monster. Not in the way that you are thinking, I did not in any way conquer it, and get everything done. I just said "screw you list" and went ahead and wrote this. It was not on my list, and it was not even a draft. But look at me, taking control over my life and priorities. Let me tell you, it feels good.

And now, instead of proof reading it, I will click "publish post". After that I won't go home and do more work, instead, I will go shopping for a hiking trip that I won't be going on until August. Just so that I can feel better.

With sass,

Me

N.B. It has been proven that smiling even when you are not happy releases endorphins in the human body. Go ahead and smile when you are feeling a little blue. You can fool your body into thinking its happy, and get in a better mood!