One day, some little incident makes you blow up. For me, it was my printer running out of ink at a crucial time and the spare printer ink box was empty and the local shop had none so I had to order online and wait 24hrs.
Have you ever heard the phrase “don’t sweat the small stuff”? There are so many things that we waste huge amounts of energy on (and worry is always wasted energy), which just won’t matter in a week, let alone ten years.
Here are ten examples of things you might be stressing about today that will not matter a hoot in ten years’ time:
1. That embarrassing misspelling in the email you just sent
2. The idiot who cut you up on your way into work
3. How clean your car is
4. One of your children acting up
5.. A nasty email from a stranger
6. Missing a deadline
7. Losing out on a job interview to a better candidate
8. Not getting any grocery shopping and offering your family a choice of cereal or sandwiches for dinner, one night
9. Making a small mistake in a report – and being called up on it by a client
10. The state of the garage and all the items you should be selling on ebay
So what are you going to pour your energy into instead?
There are a number of things you might want to concentrate on, including your family, your health and your dreams for the future.
So these are ten things which will matter in ten years’ time. Some of them need to be done on a consistent, daily basis for you to really see effects:
1. Writing down your goals
2. Working at the times of day when you’re most productive and energetic
3. Telling your children and partner that you love them
4. Eating plenty of fruit and veg
5. Going for a half-hour walk – sunshine, fresh air and exercise!
6. Getting up early to work on something that really matters to you
7. Painting a watercolour, writing a poem, or knitting a jumper
8. Doing something unexpected (but that you know will be welcomed) for your partner
9. Spending time learning and practising a new skill
10. Taking time for yourself, to think, pray or meditate
The things on this second list are the ones that will really matter, long term.
Instead of worrying over some little mistake at work or in your home life, think about your actions that build up to a bigger picture.
Did you get any exercise today? Did you take the time to prepare healthy, tasty meals? Did you work on anything that you felt truly fired-up and inspired about?
Focus your attention on the things that will matter in ten years – not the tiny ups and downs of your day that you’ll have forgotten about in a week or two.
After all, what would you rather look back on in 2020 – ten years of a stressing over a clear email inbox and a tidy house, or ten years when you made huge strides towards accomplishing something
? If you’ve got any of your own “won’t matter” and “will matter” tasks to add to the lists, let us know them in the comments