Important, Not Urgent

Among one of the greatest gifts I have received in my life thus far has been to be a part of a weekly yogic philosophy group. For three years, I worked through some of the deeper teachings of yoga, exploring how to implement the concepts and highly held beliefs into daily life…And repeat that…for three years. It is something so dear to my reality that my daily rituals are still inspired by those years, and I am creating new ways to implement the teachings as I continue to grow because of the seeds sown in that group. Quite a few of the classes would go back to the Eisenhower principle, a useful grid that works well with yogic philosophy. On one side of the grid stood two groupings: Important/Not Important. On the other side of the grid were two additional groupings: Important/Not Important. My mentor would then explain each section. The “Important and Urgent” box well, that always got done. This box stood out to me the day my father had a heart attack. It’s important, it’s urgent, you will attend to this at all cost. Another box, the “Not Important, Not Urgent” was one I still struggle with. This would be the mindless activities we allow ourselves throughout the day. Social media, tv, online shopping…these are my personal favorites. The “Not Important, Urgent” section is often one that can be renegotiated or delegated to someone else. It was in the special mixture of “Important, Not Urgent” that finds it’s way to the top of the list of most interesting. The New Year/new decade gets me thinking of Important, Not Urgent. What do I want this year to be made of. I want it to simmer with all the possibilities that Important, Not Urgent has to offer. This is the place where dreams turn to…well…dreams. So as we ring in yet another year, as the energy of something shiny and new and exciting comes into the ether, consider what your Important, Not Urgent section of your life looks like, and what you might want to do about that.