“You can do anything you want in life; you just can’t do everything you want in life” ~ David Allen
As a multi-passionate person, this quote strikes me. I often find myself wanting to add more to my plate – more books to read, more habits to track, more steps in my morning wellness routine. More roles in my life. More steps on the hedonic treadmill.
What I have learned the hard way is that this is not sustainable. Instead of doing more, in actuality, I need to do less to be the best version of myself. When I overschedule myself, I tend to neglect relationships and miss important cues from other people that they need my time and attention.
It is not just me. I see many productive and ambitious people who sacrifice relationships and depth for another quick stroke of their ego. Another feather in their cap. Another project that will gain them some recognition. Such a superficial way to live life. These are the same individuals that believe others do not see how scattered and disintegrated they truly are. They are deceiving themselves.
To be a value-driven person means that you know when to scale back so that outward pursuits do not out-compete what is most important in your life. So that juggling tasks and to-do lists does not define you. The people who truly have their life together know how to narrow their focus. They know that being an exemplar in one domain and honing their skills is better than spreading themselves thin over multiple pursuits.
You really can do anything you want. You are the master of how you spend your time and you can vote for the person you want to be with every choice you make. You truly can do anything, you just can’t do everything.