Action Verses Activity Do you have to many Activities in your life and not enough Action? What’s the difference between the two? When you are doing an activity you are just going through motions. When you are doing an action your are accomplishing something. This was a tough one for me because I can be a real people pleaser and so allowing others to gobble up my precious creative time was a real problem for me. I had drainers calling me for favors and have spent much of my time being in places I didn’t want to be. Cleaning that up has been both a difficult and rewarding experience that I continue to work on every day. The good news is that once your start to recognize it and to free yourself up there is a creativity inside of you that you never realized was there. Once you make a decision to tap your potential and eliminate these distractions you will be amazed at how your life will change. What are activities? They are the nonsense phones calls that eat up your precious time, the neighbor drops in unexpectedly and wants to tell you about an argument with her husband or her kids, the phone call to run to the store or do something that they are capable of doing themselves. You get the idea, those draining people who zap your energy level and use you as their personal assistant and therapist. Finally at some point we realize that we are nothing more than zombies going through the motions and have no control of our own life. What are actions? When you are taking action you are accomplishing things, you are in the moment, and engaged in what you are doing. Whether it is your laundry, practicing yoga, or pursuing a dream, you are actively the one in control of your life. Your life will feel good and the irritation of being robbed of it will be replaced by creativity and a sense of well being. I am not talking about being a selfish or rude person. I am talking about creating a balance within yourself and choosing friendships and relationships that are giving something back. To live consciously and to value every moment of your time and energy is something you have to really think about. This resource is not something to be squandered or taken for granted. In reality by putting a stop to these activity related relationships you are really helping the other person as much as yourself. If someone is constantly taking and not returning anything their flow is going to be halted. There needs to be an even exchange in order for things to be a benefit to both people. At least by you recognizing it and deciding not to be a part of that it gives them an opportunity to rethink things and maybe start giving back. You may be in some relationships that you can still continue by having an honest, heartfelt conversation, and letting them know that things are going to be different from here on in. Wake up and start paying attention to your days and know where your time and energy is being expended. Remember, life isn’t supposed to be living you, you are living life.