Structure and Spontaneity

This morning, after taking the kids to school, I dropped my car off at the shop for some maintenance and caught a ride home from one of the employees. He asked if I was going to be late to work, and I said no, I work at home and just needed to take the dogs out for a walk, do a little work, and maybe go for a road bike ride later. He commented on working from home and said "oh, that's the dream". Is it? I think that what he was really getting at, and what most people really want, is a balance between structure and spontaneity. You see, for many people their lives are very, very structured. Days are a pre-determined time schedule of school start times, being to work on time, conference calls every hour, school pick up times, soccer practice time, catching a TV show at 8pm, etc. This is the "treadmill" my father talked about 30 years ago, and it's the same today. It seems we have to be somewhere or doing something at every point of time during the day. This kind of structured life leads little room for spontaneity which, I would suggest, is where the real fun and enjoyable things happen. Who has TIME to grab a camera to capture an amazing sunset? Who has time to go skiing the morning after a foot of new powder? Work and other responsibilities are important. Work is what pays the bills and other duties add value to our community and our children's lives. But is it right to be tied to a time schedule all day, every day? When we say we are exhausted at the end of every day, I think I know the reason why. I know I can actually be "busier" on vacation, but never exhausted.

Zig Ziglar had a great exercise I wanted to share and it goes like this: I've gone ahead and booked you on a flight to St. Croix that leaves 24 hours from now, and comes back in a week. The weather looks great for the next few days, with sunny days in the 90's. You can see the ocean from your beach cottage at Chenay Bay, and enjoy the shade of the tall palm trees. You can hear the breeze blowing through them every night, along with the sound of the ocean surf. The seafood is fresh, and you'll taste the freshest lobster every night. You'll be able to enjoy snorkeling, diving, fishing, and even horseback riding on the beach. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Remember though, the flight leaves in exactly 24 hours and you have to be ready to go. This means letting go of your time schedule and all the things other people want you to do, and not being in all the places you're expected to be. This means being less structured. This means being spontaneous. Can you get on that plane in 24 hours?

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If you have too much structure and not enough spontaneity (and fun!) in your life and WANT to change, contact me and I'll share some ideas on how to do this.