One of my unpublished resolutions (I can’t tell you EVERYTHING, now can I?!) is to dive into literature more in 2022 than I did last year. It’ll be pretty easy, I only read a couple of books last year. Before you judge, I used to read a book a month for years, but fell out of the habit.

This post is about the book, The Joy of Missing Out, by Tanya Dalton. For someone who suffers from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), the concepts in this book are eye opening. I never give too much away in my book reviews, but would love to share just a single concept that deeply resonated with me.

When you say “yes” to something, you’re saying “no” to something else. Every time. << Those are my own words of stating this key concept in Dalton’s book.

Here is why this is so eye-opening to me: I am an enneagram #2, the helper. I love helping others. If someone asked me to help them with an issue they’re having with their website, for example, I would typically find a time that worked for both of us so I could troubleshoot the issue.

Therin lies my new dilemma: by saying yes to website-friend, I’m saying no to:
1) a possible opportunity that is more enriching, rewarding, or fulfilling;
2) time with my family;
3) time I could spend knocking out the items on my to-do list I’ve been putting off;
4) etc, etc.

Because I traveled about 75 percent of my time in 2021, I’m trying to re-evaluate how I’m spending my time in 2022. Furthermore, I’m re-evaluating how I am making the choices that influence my schedule. I’m doing this by asking the following:
1) is it worth missing family time for?
2) is it financially more rewarding?
3) am I doing this task just to fill an empty time slot?

Those answers are going to help guide me in my decision-making this year.

I’m interested in hearing what you think. Is this a more selfish point of view?

Talk to you soon,
Dale