I did my favorite run from the rec center near my house last week. It’s a 10k loop that winds through Lancaster County farmlands and the small town I live in. I have done this run so many times, I could probably do it in my sleep.
Because the run is so familiar, and I know it so well, I have plenty of opportunities to get lost in my thoughts when I do it. As I was running, I was thinking of the word “intentional“.
I was inspired by some people I visited recently who really do live intentional lives. The experience made me look at my own life to consider ways that I could be more intentional.
I usually have a hundred things going on at all times. I am the ultimate multi-tasker. Even when I run, I am not always concentrating on the run – I am examining all the thoughts that roll through my brain, looking for interesting signs to ponder (you can read about my proclivity for signs here), sometimes even singing (yes, out loud!) to keep myself amused. I once wrote a post where I confessed to scrolling through my newsfeed while doing yoga.
The result of all this multi-tasking is that each “task” gets accomplished in a perfunctory sort of way. I am not really giving my undivided attention to anything, because I am trying to do everything.
Then I came across this quote:
“How you do one thing, is how you do everything. Be aware.”
And it stopped me in my tracks.
It made me ask the question “How many times have I taken shortcuts because I am so busy?” How often have I performed tasks in a slap-dash way? How many times have I not vacuumed under the bed, because no one sees under there anyway? How many times have I just thrown a salad together rather than arranged it beautifully, because I hate to make salads?
Here is the thing – I love to eat beautiful fresh salads. I appreciate a gorgeous colorful salad. My hubby and I recently visited two of our sons and their families. My daughters-in-law each made perfectly constructed, fresh, delicious salads. They used inventive ingredients. They were carefully and thoughtfully arranged. The salads were a joy to eat. They looked and tasted much better than my haphazard affairs. What if I were to concentrate on really making wonderful salads?
And what if I carried my new salad-making philosophy into other, more important areas of my life? What else could be improved if I would just concentrate on one thing at a time and doing it well, rather than doing many things in an indiscriminate way?
Relationships are important to me. I know that I sometimes neglect relationships or take them for granted. What if I would focus on each relationship that I hold dear and spend some quality time with friends and family uninterrupted by electronic media or other distractions?
Writing is important to me. I feel very good about some of the posts I write. I feel as though I have put a lot of thought into the piece, reread and polished it, and hit the publish button only when it is saying exactly what I want it to say. Sometimes I feel as though I rush through the process in order to meet an imaginary deadline that I have arbitrarily set. What if I would carefully and thoughtfully examine each article, and publish only the ones that convey a positive message of joy, hope, and encouragement?
Running is important to me. It is a big part of my life. I sometimes feel as though I try to do every race that comes across my radar – trail races, 5ks, marathons, half marathons. It’s impossible to do all of them well, all of the time. It is tough to run a fast 5k when I need to do long runs each week for marathon training. I just don’t recover as fast as I used to. What if I paused before signing up for a race until I have time to consider how it fits into my schedule? What if I signed up only for races that really excite me, and focus on quality, rather than quantity?
Finally, love is very important to me. There is no one I love more than my hubby. I know that sometimes when he is talking to me, I am not focusing on his words because I am doing something else. This is an instance when multi-tasking is definitely inappropriate. What if I concentrate on giving the man I love more of my awareness? What If I stopped typing, looking at my phone, chopping onions or whatever other less important undertaking I am doing and gave him my undivided attention when he is trying to tell me something?
If I start doing the small things in life – like salads – better by slowing down and paying more attention, maybe that will help me do big things – like relationships – better also. Intentional is an adjective I want to apply to my life. I don’t want to settle for mediocre. I want spectacular. “How you do one thing, is how you do everything. Be aware.”
I am linking up with Clean East Fast Feets for her Week in Review, Shank You Very Much for Global Blogging, Random-osity for The Good, The Random, The Fun, blovedboston for Weekending, Char at Trekking Thru, Abounding Grace for Gracefull Tuesday, Patty, Erika and Marcia for Tuesdays on the Run, Shelbee on the Edge for Spread the Kindness, Holley Gerth for Coffee for Your Heart, Eclectic Evelyn for her Words on Wednesday, Debbie at Dare 2 Hear, Sharing a Journey for Wellness Wednesday, and Shank You Very Much for Dream Team.
Nice post dear, yes some times it’s good to do only one thing at a time. ❤️✌️
BY FOR NOW
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Thank you, Dawn!
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Your Welcome Laurie. ❤️✌️
BY FOR NOW
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The title of your post really caught my eye: there is a phrase, or rather a revelation that popped into my own head some time ago, which is pretty similar, “You do everything the way you do everything else” Pretty much the same message eh? And quite the warning to give each task you are engaged in proper attention. Great post!
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Thank you! Yes, the phrases are very similar and very relevant. I need constant reminders to do ONE thing at a time and do it well.
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Love today’s message. I see myself in so many of your statements. Today I will be more aware, especially of others and give my full attention.
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Thank you! I need constant reminders to SLOW DOWN! 🙂
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Laurie, this is so great and so true! Our culture has become so addicted to multi-tasking that honestly, I think most of us actually feel a twinge of guilt if we are “only’ doing one thing–and that’s crazy!
I’m with you–let’s do one thing well (at a time), and enjoy it, or the person we are with. Otherwise, why be there? We will miss the wonder of this gift called life…
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I agree 100%. It is difficult to slow down and do ONE thing well.
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Wow, does this resonate with me. Almost feel like I could have written this, except for, y’know, the running part 🙂
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We women are notroious multi-taskers! 🙂
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Great thought! I’ve been trying to slow down this summer and not try to do five things at once all the time. It’s tough but maybe it will get easier
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It’s a tough habit to break!
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It sure is!
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I think this is very true and I’m only now seeing it in my life. Interesting to discover these patterns.
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So true. Why does it take us so long to discover these important things? 🙂
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Isn’t it so interesting to note where our attention, our full attention goes? I often catch my mind flitting about in the way you describe.
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I think it’s pretty evident in my writing that my mind is all over the place! 🙂
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I love that salad-making philosophy, haha. 🙂 I couldn’t help but think of the well-known phrase as I was reading this: if you are faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in the big things. It takes for us to be intentional in the smaller things for us to be intentional in the bigger things. Thank you for linking up over at GraceFull Tuesday!
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Exactly, being faithful in the little things teaches us how to be faithful in all things. thank you for the opportunity to link up.
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This is a great thing to ponder over… I mean to stop, and ponder over. And hopefully do things differently! 🙂 #globalblogging xoxo
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Thanks for the comment! And, yes….stop, and ponder it!
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I love how you apply this to all aspects of your life, including your relationship with your husband.
I find that I am more intentional with my tasks when I write them down.
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That is a great idea! Check them off a list.
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I am really not much of a multi tasker, and yet I certainly do some of the same things. I think we are all guilty of rushing through our lives, sometimes. Of course when we do, that is exactly when we feel as though life is rushing past us! And that is exactly where mindfulness comes in.
But life is also about learning and growing, our entire lives. Thanks for a thought provoking post!
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Exactly – well put – “rushing through our lives”! Thanks for a great comment!
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Being more intentional is something that is a common theme in yoga class for sure. I always aspire to be more intentional just not sure I am quite there yet
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True. I don’t know if I will ever be there, but at least I can try to get closer! 🙂
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I have that nasty (impulsive?) habit of registering for almost every race that pops onto my radar. I have been riding this plateau (in recent years) with good finish times (but nothing stellar)…probably due to the fact that I’m doing the quantity thing instead of the quality. It’s a tough balance!
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Yep. That sounds like me. So many appealing races out there!
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Salads, listening, vacuuming under the bed — sigh. Me, too.
In Walking Through Twilight, Douglas Groothuis talked at length about the skill of Uni-Tasking that he learned when his wife began her decline, and the idea keeps nudging me.
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Love the term “uni-tasking”. What a great way to picture the concept!
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What food for thought. I am a multitasker too so I understand your dilemma well. Maybe we can pick one thing a week to be intentional about and go from there. Baby steps so to speak.
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Great idea. This week, I am selecting salads. I just took my time and make a beautiful one. Next week…???
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Thank you for this post. We tend to think that multi-tasking is an accomplishment when in reality it robs us of the joy of individual experiences like those you mention and beyond.
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You are absolutely right! There is not much joy when you are feeling stressed and harried all the time.
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I’m back to read this again! I love your thoughts on this subject! I see some quotes I’d like to write in my journal tonight!
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So glad you enjoyed it!
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I LOVE this quote. I have never really considered how I do “one thing”, but what a powerful statement. I will be sharing this with my faculty this week. THANK YOU for sharing this and linking up today. I appreciate your wisdom!
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Thank you so much. I was a teacher for over 30 years. 🙂
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[…] (Synchronistically, while writing this article, we received notification of a post called “How You Do One Thing is How You Do Everything”. The blogger talks about intentionality and mindful interaction with daily experience. If you […]
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I have found that sometimes I feel as if I didn’t do anything fully in a day – it makes you pause and think about tackling one task at a time. #DreamTeam
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Exactly. Multi-tasking is overrated!
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A woman after my own heart! I seriously need to slow down a little! #globalblogging
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I know just how you feel – multitasking is a way of life!
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I think most of us could stand to slow down and pay more attention to the task at hand!
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I sure could!
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[…] me stop and examine my priorities. Living an intentional life is important to me, as I discussed in this earlier post. I like running marathons, but I really enjoy the shorter distances more. I can race […]
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