What's words got to do with it?

Recently I had a revelation… an Aha moment. I always knew that I was a responsible person. I do what I have to do, always! I have also always known that I am secretly envious of those who don’t do what they have to do; those that just sort of let things happen.

The other day, I said” I have to do so and so” and it caught me by surprise. The thing I said “I have to “do is something that I wanted to do. Something that I look forward to doing every week and it always ends too soon. So what’s the problem you ask? The problem is this, being responsible, doing what I have to do had begun to corrode the fabric of the things I want to do. Without noticing I was allowing everything, pleasant and unpleasant, exciting and dull to land in one big heap that I call responsibilities/have to’s. Instead of carefully sorting things I must do because of basic needs for food and shelter vs things I would do even if it meant losing sleep, skipping meals was being lost to a clear distinction. If you’re not careful you’ll miss this. Somehow, I let the things I enjoy fall into the category of “have to”. It’s a big distinction which if not careful could cause me to lose sight of those things that bring me joy and energize me.

Being responsible is great, but it should not cost me joy, peace or happiness in my day to day activities.

So what’s the answer? Something I’ve always known. Words have power! Words have to be chosen carefully because what we say becomes what we think, becomes what we do and then what we become. I don’t plan to live my life doing only what I have to, even if it’s the responsible thing to do. I plan to do what I have to because it’s what I want to, in order to get me closer to doing what I want to! So in other words, changing my words will change the way I live out my style of being responsible. I will get done what I think makes sense and the rest, will…..let’s see.