Yesterday I started writing about the importance of focus and what I should do with this blog, and ironically I found myself thinking I won’t be able to continue writing about it today, even though that was part of the entire point. And yet, I just realized that my entire day was sprinkled with challenges that were very connected to this topic, and facing them made me appreciate more keenly something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately:
In order to be focused on something of value to you, you have to know how to say No to other things that could pull your focus away.
One of the things I value right now is my health. I decided I won’t help out in the beginners’ class today, as part of a plan to finally get some rest in the next month or two. I want to be in bed before midnight every day except weekends, and this will mean missing out on the weekday milongas and some of the classes. I’m so tired these days that this decision now seems like an easy one, but a lot of other factors are constantly pulling me the other way.
Today’s challenge was a really sweet one. I was having dinner with a friend, and afterwards my plan was to just drop by the class in order to pick something up. Then I got a message from Milena that one high school student from a school where we did a tango presentation a few weeks ago came to class. I got very excited because I didn’t expect anyone to come (the presentation had a different purpose) and I really liked a lot of the students . Suddenly I was really looking forward to dropping by the class.
When I got there, I was instantly lifted by the positive energy in the air. The entire instructing team was there, the group which I’m more and more fond of was working as diligently as always and our new student was making his first tango steps.
The atmosphere enveloped me so quickly that suddenly I really wanted to stay till the end of class. But then I realized that this would mean breaking a deal I made with myself: if I stay, even though I’ll have a wonderful time, I’ll write this post and go to bed a lot later. So, what do I do?
The answer came soon enough: Sometimes the things that could pull your focus away are also part of some important personal process of yours. However, you must decide on your priorities for a certain time period, and once you do, you must stick to the things that matter the most right now.
And so I went home, and now I’m finishing this post some 10 minutes before my planned bedtime. A small, but sweet victory.
to be continued
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