Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do.
And if you are feeling overwhelmed, it’s really hard to know what to do.
This is where my family is at right now. My mother-in-law passed away. There are a lot of decisions and things that have to be done right now. We need to plan a service, clear her apartment and decide what belongings to keep and what to let go. We need to inform the rest of the family and talk to her friends. All of this is made more difficult by COVID 19. How many people can be at the service? Who should those people be? How can we do this safely?
When life throws big things at us, it’s tempting to just shut down. It’s an option – just not a good option. You can also worry or kvetch about all the things you have to do. But that doesn’t accomplish anything.
The phrase that is keeping me sane is “What is the next thing we need to do?” and then doing that thing. I’m not thinking about all the things – just the next thing.
According to a number of sources, adults make 35,000 decisions a day. All that thinking, weighing and choosing every day…I’m surprised we all get up every day. And when we find ourselves in a stressful situation that number increases.
There are some decisions that require a great deal of thought and deliberation. They require research and weighing the pros and cons. But if we get stuck in this stage nothing moves forward.
My new mantra for 2021 is What is the Next Thing I Need to Do? And then I’m going to do it. And every day I’m going to do one thing. I’m excited to see what I can do this year.
