Good morning! Life has been life, lately. And life, as John Lennon quoted from Allen Saunders, is what happens when you make other plans. I really wanted to come back with something about that aspect of life but realized that I needed to talk about something else first – the choices we make about what we do and having to balance what we Want To Do with what we are Required To Do. Brutal Calculations as I have started to think of them.

Brutal Calculations. We all make them. They are part of the lives of every single person on the planet. An example for me commonly is between work and practice. Playing roller derby is a huge passion for me. Having been injured I need to work harder to come back and part of that is going to practice and actually skating. Practice and working out becomes a priority. Then I have work, which is a supervisory/management position. That means I have a lot of stuff to get done with deadlines. It also means that I get assigned extra tasks based on business need and I am expected to complete them. Even if I have to unexpectedly work late that night to do it.

And there you have it. The choice between roller derby, an activity which lifts my spirit and brings me joy, and work, which keeps a roof over my head but isn’t “uplifting”. A Brutal Calculation.

But the choices don’t have to be that stark or depressing. It can be the choice between playing Fallout 4 (very fun in the moment, no long term benefits), writing (can be fun, working on a skill that will be useful), and working out (quite a chore, great benefits). If you have limited resources you have to make them. Do you buy the Deluxe, Super Premium, Every Channel Possible Cable Package, or do you take classes to indulge a hobby? Do you pay the phone bill or the electric bill?

Well, lately my choices have been work, working out, the aforementioned Fallout 4, and watching old episodes of Would I Lie to You? It is time for me to change prioritization.More writing. More working out. More practice. What about you? What calculations do you want to change in your life?