The FlyLady: Stop and Smell the Roses

All around us there are things we miss because we are running around and do not take the time to stop and smell the roses.

We live in such a frantic paced world, but the world is not frantic – we are! We are the ones who choose to run around at the fast pace. Do we think we are ever going to make up for lost time? The world keeps turning at the same speed. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and it is how we choose to use those hours that causes us to be so busy that we don’t take time for the simple things in life like smelling the roses.

You are so busy that you don’t even notice the roses along your path; much less think about smelling them. We are oblivious to the things going on around us because our mind is reacting to yet another mess we have gotten ourselves into because we don’t know how to stop procrastinating.

We have two speeds: Full out pedal to the metal or slamming on the breaks! Have you ever ridden with someone who drives like this? Just the thought of this makes me sick. Why do we treat ourselves like this with jackrabbit starts and stops? We deserve better!

The stops don’t happen often, they only occur after you have crashed and burned. We don’t know how to take it slow and steady. All we know is if we will just keep going as fast as we can we can accomplish all we have to in one day. We can stop living like this.

You are not more effective under stress. That is a lie we tell ourselves because we do not know how to stop unless we are forced to. I think we have to look at the reasons we are rushing around for us to be able to stop and rest. Procrastination is a vicious monster that causes us to peddle faster and faster. We put off doing something till it is screaming at us.

You know how it is; you put off filling your car up with gas and now you are in a hurry to pick up your child at school and you just had to do one more thing before you walked out the door. That is perfectionism and procrastination giving you the one two punch! No wonder you don’t have time to stop and smell the roses you are too busy putting out fires.

Do you hear these words come out of your mouth many times a day: I don’t have time, I’m late? This is an important clue for you. Next time those words soil your lips, I want you to think about why you are in this pickle. I promise you it is because you put off doing something or you allowed your perfectionism to take over.

You don’t have to live this way another day. You have a choice and if you choose the “do it now” principle, you may find that there are enough hours in a day and you do have time to stop and smell the roses.

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