It’s September, and the start of the school year can definitely be a hectic time for many people, and for some, it’s just the beginning of a whole long year of events and activities. Many parents start the school year thinking, “Maybe this year will be a little less busy!”. Some ask themselves, “How can we do things differently this year?”. Then the year begins, and somehow it’s like all the other years…it’s busy.
I want to share one simple thing you can do to make this school year a little less busy.
Are you ready? It’s simple.
If you want to be just a little less busy this school year, stop looking at everyone else!!
How often do we look at everyone else? All the time!
Now I think you might know what I mean by “looking at everyone else”. If not, let me explain. You see, we spend a lot of time looking at what other families are doing. We notice what they are involved in, how they spend their time, and how they fill their calendars. We chat with other moms, and we learn all about what is going on in their social life. We overhear the parents at the bus stop talking about all the extracurricular activities their children are involved in this school year. We scroll through Facebook and notice all the fun outings our friends and neighbors are taking each weekend. We’re looking at everyone else.
Yes, we’re looking at everyone else, and it’s making us busy. Why? We think we need to do what we see or hear everyone else doing.
But here’s a wonderful, freeing truth: You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. You’re not them, and they’re not you.
In order to be just a little less busy you need to consider your priorities, and use those to shape your families’ choices. We tend to let other people choose for us. We often make our decisions based on what we see others doing without much thought about what might be best for our situation and our family.
I find so much inspiration and encouragement from other moms and other families; I think that it is good to learn from others. I love chatting with other moms and finding out how they run their homes or how they tackle various problems (both big and small). I cherish the time I get to spend with my friends sharing stories and finding out about their family life.
Let’s learn from each other, let’s grow and be challenged, but let’s not mindlessly make certain choices for our family just because that’s what we see everyone else doing.
Almost everyone else around us looks busy…and they are. Perhaps you can choose another way. Maybe you and your family can pursue the full life (without all the busy).
Take this school year and really look inside. Look inside your heart (considering your priorities and values). Look inside your home (considering the needs of you and your family). Stop looking at everyone else and just see if perhaps this school year can be a little less busy.
What about you? What are you doing this school year to make it less busy for you and your family? I would love to hear from you, so drop me a comment below!
Until next time,
Charissa
This is a very powerful message. I find myself sometimes trying to “keep up with the Jones” but luckily I quickly put myself in check. We just need to focus on our own little families.
It can be very easy to spend a lot of time looking at what everyone else is doing, that is for sure!
This is absolutely true. I sometimes hear what other kids are doing like piano lessons and I think…we should do piano lessons too! But really we are already doing several things. Thanks for the reminder.
You are welcome, Carolyn. 🙂
I’m so guilty of this! I’m constantly comparing myself and my family to others and changing to incorporate what they are doing. It’s something I really need to work on. Great post!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Ashley.
I agree. I think most important thing is to look within and think about what works for us, our families, our children. Comparing ourselves with others distract us unnecessarily. Thank you for sharing your valuable insight!
You are right, Angela; it is a distraction. 🙂
Definitely great advice! I say you just do you Mama—if that means taking shortcuts to make life easier, or not doing the same as other moms, I’m all for what makes life better!
I agree, Mary!!
Great reminder to do what works for your family. It can be so hard to remember that we don’t need to do it all.
We don’t need to do it all!!
Yes, I love this! The funny thing is, I see what all those other families are doing and it has the opposite effect on me. I tell my husband that we need to do less and just spend more time together, lol. I think many families just do too much. I mean, you should do whatever works for your family, but I think if most of them were being honest with themselves they would admit that it doesn’t really work for them.
I also see others and think the same thing: let’s do less!!
This is so important and really kind of applies to most things in life. It’s important to just do you and what works for you!
You’re right, Christina, it does apply to most things in life. 🙂
You are so right, Christina…it really does apply to most things!
You hit the nail on the head with this post. It is so important to not compare ourselves with other moms and other families!
Each family is unique with unique priorities and seasons of life!
🙂
I love this and it is so true! We have to stop comparing!
Yes!!