My very large family had a very large amount of family meetings in the years and months before my Dad’s death. At one such meeting, at least 12 of us kids and spouses and our mom were sitting around my very large kitchen table.  Our eldest brother-in-law said something that I knew I would want to remember.  I grabbed my phone and jotted it in my notes.  

I’ve always had a ‘thing’ about quotes.  I keep them.  I used to write them in journals and notebooks. Many, many journals and notebooks.  I used to exchange them with college friends.  I used to cut them out of magazines.  (Ok, I still do that one).  I have one instagram account dedicated to just quotes.  I keep them on my phone. And, I am now trying my hand at keeping some of them organized in a growing google drive.  (More on that in another post.) 

My point is, I like them. 

And I knew John’s quote would matter to me.   He was saying it to my mom, but I knew, from past experience with his wisdom, that it would matter to ME. 

As it turned out, a couple of weeks ago I was talking to my sister about her job and I remembered I had this quote. I had this quote!  I read it to her, thinking it was for her.  And it kind of was.  But it was more for me.  And for all of us, really. 

Have I kept you in suspense long enough?  Are you dying to know what he said?

Ok.  Here goes:

“You can’t wait until something exhausts you.  You need to build the priority into your life so you won’t GET exhausted. You need to bring yourself out of survival mode.  If you don’t take charge of it yourself, someone or something else will.”

I told you it was wise.  

Are any of you, like me, forgetting sometimes to build priority into your life and to take charge of things yourself?  

Immediately after the conversation with my sister I came home and re-read the quote again.  Then I went to work on listing the things in my life that weren’t getting done because of the day-to-day survival mode.  I made a simple weekly schedule.  Just one of those things for every day.  JUST ONE THING.  One thing that will get done on that one day.  Even on my worst day.  No matter what. 

It has changed everything. 

I can’t wait to hear about the ‘just one things’ you’re building into your life.  Even on your worst day.