The party was for 500 of us on Zoom. It was a social event during the first week of class, so that we could get to know each other. In the Zoom meeting we each rotated from one breakout room to another, fifteen new people at a time. We introduced ourselves. We told why we were taking the class.
I was on a mission. I listened carefully. I wanted to recruit a few of the most eager partygoers to join me in a Study Group. The idea was that we would meet periodically to discuss ideas from the class and to help each other in our ventures.
We formed our group. Weekly we met to share ideas from the class and support one another. It worked.
Last week our Study Group had been meeting for seven months. I was going through a tough time. My ambitions had grown – I wanted to conquer the world – now. I was getting more and more frustrated. There was a huge gap between where I was and where I wanted to be. I knew that meditation would help, but I had never been able to do that.
How could I get rid of the pit in my stomach? Why not just spread out my most urgent tasks over the first quarter of the year? I worked backwards from where I wanted to be at the end. When I did this, it seemed like I had to get nearly everything done right now, immediately, in the first week.
My Study Group was meeting. I couldn’t contain myself. I burst out what was going on, the importance of it all and the tremendous anxiety I felt. Arlene (her real name) is in my group. She is my junior by more than 20 years and is very wise. Arlene asked, “Why do you need to get it all done by the end of the quarter?” I didn’t know what to say. She continued, “So what if you don’t get all of this week’s tasks done? Why can’t you work on your own schedule and just do what you can do?”
I had no answer, at least not any good answer. I was stunned. I calmed down. Yea, Arlene.
What strategies do you use when everything is urgent?