Signing Up for Overwhelm

Every fall, most students, parents, and teachers are overwhelmed.

We often complain about it.

Even worse, many wear it like a badge of honor.

But most of the time, we speak of it as though it were inflicted upon us. That there is an unseen force that causes us to become overloaded with activities, commutes, and events.

But in the end, we signed up for it. It was our decision to do this to ourselves.

The exciting part is, if we don't like it (or know it's just wrong), we can sign out of it, too.

It's not the popular decision. In fact, it carries a social stigma in most communities to pull children out of sports to give them more time to sleep.

But it's an available decision, nonetheless.

Instead of bragging about how the family schedule is overloaded, decide to brag about the free time you have to just lay on a picnic blanket and look at the clouds.

If you're feeling overwhelmed this season, consider this.

Is there something you can drop?

And will dropping it actually free up the time you need to live the life you want?

(Side note: Piano lessons tend to be a popular dropping choice around middle/high school, only freeing up 30 minutes a week aside from practicing. 

By comparison, most sports practices and games take up 10-12 hours a week minimum.)

If it feels wrong, drop it. Be the unpopular one. Go against the mainstream to make the decisions to have the things you need and want out of this life.

And more than likely, you'll end up being a hero.