"Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity." - Saint Augustine
For the past few months, I've been pondering my priorities and reassessing; my goals, priorities, and "work-life balance" as they say. However, I haven't made much progress, and I am still miles away from concluding.
Yet, as I keep on wondering and pondering, I have realized a thing or two. I've pinpointed a few things that aren't as necessary as I once thought they were, and some truly necessary things, that I have been ignoring for way too long; for which now it has all come back as a bigger problem and is now haunting me.
I was in this illusion for a while, where I got habituated to certain things that I felt were necessary, but they weren't even close to the list of necessities the average person has or should have. It was an unnecessary habit that I had duped myself into believing was necessary. And maybe it was necessary to an extent, but I had gone a bit overboard.
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵒᵛᵉʳᵃˡˡ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵉⁿᵗ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐʸ ᵒʷⁿ ᵘⁿˡᵉˢˢ ᶦᵗ'ˢ ᵐᵉⁿᵗᶦᵒⁿᵉᵈ
After a year of many ups and downs, I've realized that there's no alternative to good health, family, and purposeful work. Everything else is vague and short-lived. Your health will take you far, and a loving family will be there to assist you in that journey, purposeful work will make the challenges and daily difficulties feel minuscule.
When your life has purpose, you wake up every day with a smile and an unequaled level of energy to take on the world. A few hobbies to keep things interesting, a few different endeavors and experiences so that you live life to the fullest. And during old age, when lying on your death bed, you know that you tried your best to take in life's offerings, and you weren't barred in any way; not by people's thoughts and comments, by the circumstances, and the cards that were dealt to you.
Over the past two years, I've shifted my focus to many different aspects and tried to test my limits. Whether it be work or hobbies, now it was the wrong decision. One person can only focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking isn't for the average human being. It only ruins the quality of work and shifts focus from what's important, to what seems interesting and fun. But interest and the fun factor fade quickly. What survives in the long run is concentrated work and slow and steady development.
Soon enough, I'll be cutting off weak links and activities and will start focusing on the things that are purposeful to me and bring me peace and joy; while also investing in the things that benefit these activities and endeavors. I can't get distracted again, and let others dictate my life and goals.
