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I dropped a glass ball today. Metaphorically, not literally although that happens often as well. I had multiple balls in the air and I let a glass one drop. What is a glass ball? Let me explain.
Recently I heard an analogy comparing our lives to a juggling act. Duh! This is not a ground-breaking nor unique idea. However, this was a new perspective on how we look at this juggling act. I'd love to credit the person responsible for this because it has changed how I view my day. However, I cannot remember who said it or where I saw it. I would assume it was on Facebook because that's where we get all our wisdom these days. If you recognize the story, please let me know the original creator.
Personally I believe it's brilliant and I hope you find value in it like I did.
We know that every day as a mom, as a teacher, as a wife, etc. is a juggling act. We usually think of ourselves as juggling a ball for work and a ball for family. We may have a ball for friends and a ball for self. And everyday we toss those up trying to balance 3 or 4 areas of our life. In reality, we are balancing much much more. Work consists of multiple balls, family consists of multiple balls and so on. We can break down our tasks at work into a different ball for each. Each responsibility at home is a different ball. Every sports practice, work email, household chore is a different ball. And not every ball carries equal weight. Some of those balls are plastic and some are glass. Plastic balls are of less importance on that day, in that moment, than those of glass. Dropping the plastic ball won't have as serious consequences as dropping the glass. Every day we must decide which balls we are juggling and determine whether they are glass or plastic.
This was mind-blowing to me!
I am 100% type A. Every day has a to-do list. I get pure satisfaction from crossing off items and I'e been known to add things to the list just to cross them off. Some days, if the list seems to long, I will prioritize by urgency or complete tasks by how much time I have in the moment. Thinking about my day as glass and plastic has been a game changer Because now I look at tasks according to their importance not urgency. Lets be honest...not everything deemed urgent is truly important. I also look at what the results will be if something doesn't get done. Plastic balls will barely cause a ripple if they get dropped. Glass balls will have more serious effects and may impact others if dropped.
For instance, responding to a coworker's email about a math resource would be plastic while submitting a document needed for funding would be glass. I don't have to respond to every email in one sitting. Decorating the classroom for the unit we start Monday might be glass whereas grading the math test could be plastic. The students are going to know if I'm not fully prepared for the day, but they aren't going to know if the math test is a day last coming back. I can use my plan time more wisely if I understand which tasks are glass and have a higher priority.
At home, washing that load of laundry could be plastic, but playing Barbies is glass because Grace is counting on it. However, if no one has any clean underwear, then laundry becomes a glass ball. Not every task is devastating if it doesn't get done. And you have control! Yes, there are tasks that will automatically be glass because of someone else's agenda. However, you CAN control your perspective and surround those glass balls with plastic ones.
Even more important is the realization that it's OK if you drop a ball or two. Let me repeat that....
It's OK if you drop a ball. There I said it. And it's important for you to hear it.
I am always on this laser-focused mission to clear off every task every day. Ultimately, though, that's not feasible nor sustainable. Especially since I tend to be overly optimistic about what I can accomplish in a given time. That practice always leads to stress and usually a feeling of defeat.
But now, with a new perspective, I approach my day differently. The glass ball tasks take priority. Occasionally I will even drop a plastic ball on purpose if it means I get to read a few more pages in my book or have a second cup of coffee. And GASP! sometimes a glass ball will drop as well. That's just life. When that happens, pick it up, apologize, and make it right. Who knows, you might realize it was plastic all along. Or you might realize it was extremely fragile glass and you have a lot of pieces to pick up and put back together. Either way, you will survive.
I dropped a glass ball today. I felt terrible. It was completely my fault and feelings were hurt. It doesn't feel good, but I apologized and we moved on. The point is...WHAT we are juggling doesn't matter near as much as HOW we juggle. More importantly, how we respond when we fail.
The ultimate goal is to find peace. To reduce our stress and find the joy. Our daily juggling should be for the benefit of ourselves and others. If we are constantly worried about what has to get done, we miss out on the small moments of joy. Here's to juggling the plastic and the glass.
So find that list, regroup, and enjoy less stress!
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