where less is more.

I love this time of year. As many of you know, the idea of "New Beginnings" resonates within me like nothing else; it is something that allows us to regather our thoughts, muster up new strengths, and forge ahead against the grainy sandstorms of whatever our future holds for us. Hence the reason why this time of new resolutions, optimistic outlooks, and aspiring goals for the upcoming calendar year is so appealing in my eyes. With that in mind, my hope for you in reading this brief post would be that you will find and apply the most efficient ways to accomplish your dreams, manage your thoughts, and find success in the endeavors that you have set forth for yourself, while at the same time, as I've emphasized before, taking time to smell the roses along the pathways of life as you go.



This evening as I sat in one of my favorite courses taught by one of my favorite professors--a life-mentor of mine that has, time-after-time, continually helped me to progress and become greater than I ever thought that I was before--I began to experience a rather personal and very internal battle of thoughts in my mind. Allow me to explain: as I am en-route to completing my undergraduate schooling, my thoughts are often made up of ideas such as "Where should I apply for graduate school? What are the chances of me being married by the time I finish my degree? Where should I apply for my next employment opportunity? Should I ask that girl out this weekend? Etc." These very differing thoughts often take over my mind's entire ability to think about anything else and I am thus consumed.

However, this particular train of thought on this particular evening happened to stop "chugging" at: "Should I add a class or two to my current schedule to complete my degree faster? Or, instead, do I really focus on the classes that I am in now and make room in my schedule for doing things outside of school and work that I love doing?"

It was then that the self-introspecting question piercingly took root in my mind: "Which is more important right now--Getting more done? Or Getting more out of what I do?"

Rather than going into deep and soul-bearing detail as to what this concept means to me, I'd instead like for you to take time and ask yourself the exact same question, but apply it to the things that are going on in your life. Perhaps, while you are contemplating this particular principle, you could even ask yourself the following questions to help spark some discussion with your self: Are you a believer that your circumstances make up your happiness? That if you just had that job or married that guy or drove that car, then you would be happy? That your definition of happiness starts with "If only..."? Or are you the type of person that creates your own happiness? Do you believe that no matter what is going on in your life, that you can still be infinitely happy?

Over the past few years, I have had a great many of my close friends graduate from school and have been thrown into what they refer to as "The Real World." It is very interesting to hear so many of them come up to me now and say, "Shad, take advantage of each day that you are still finishing your undergrad; get involved; spend time with friends; go to sporting events; do well in your classes; take classes that you've never thought of taking; try new things; be fearless; etc. Because out here in the "real world" things are different. Oh, how I wish that I would've taken more time to really enjoy each day that I had while I was still where you are now." (Perhaps some of you have had similar encounters with people who have moved on in some aspect of their life and not just in schooling).

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to contribute to society as much as I can and move on to whatever lies in store for me; but the point that I'd like to make in all of this is the idea of making sure that we're getting more out of what we're doing now rather than simply getting the most done in the least amount of time. Of course, this, like most things in life, depends on your circumstances--you may be wanting to finish your degree or get through your current job or whatever it is because of familiar, financial, or religious situations--but it is still something to think about nonetheless.

I have thus made the decision and steered my thoughts toward getting more out of what I do rather than solely getting more done. I have changed my class schedule, shifted work hours, and am gearing myself up to give as much of myself as I can to the things that I have going on in my life. I hope to learn more, stress less, and ultimately lose myself in the service of others. And I hope to never have those similar feelings of regret that some of my friends have felt.

Whether you are in high school, a freshman in college, finishing your graduate degree, busy working, feeling regrets similar to what I mentioned earlier, taking care of children at home, or even a veteran in the ways of living in "reality", I would challenge you to look at what you do on a day-to-day basis and ask yourself: "Am I simply trying to get more done so that I can move on? Or am I striving to get the most out of what I am doing now?" Decide where you stand. Change what is necessary. And never give up.



Here's to getting more out of life than we ever have before.





Cheers.