Can You Live Too Intentionally? Finding Balance
Many people make New Year Resolutions, but break them within a few weeks or months. Those that have defined written goals, however, are proven to be more successful in obtaining those priorities. Achieving their dreams, no matter what obstacles thrown in their direction, is their way of reaching their full potential. They are living intentionally, but even the most disciplined were derailed in 2020 falling short of their objectives. Although it has become our family mantra to live intentionally, I began to ponder if it is possible to be too focused?
One of my “self” goals was to hike Rim to Rim of the Grand Canyon. Starting the year off training wasn’t too difficult to put the treadmill at the gym on level 14 incline and go to town. The gyms and parks, however, closed due to the pandemic which prevented my exercise. Since we live on 280 rolling acres, I just converted my workout to the outdoors. Traipsing over the pastures by following the fence line was breathtaking. But heavy rains and flooded creeks prevented my workouts yet again. Another pivot, I set up my bike on a trainer during those wet days to keep up my cardio. On the sunny days once back outside, the grass continued to grow up to my waist making it difficult to trudge through, but it was the cicadas that quickly stopped the hikes. Those millions of insects simultaneous chirping sounded like an alien invasion which I did not want to trek through. The good news, after months of shut downs, places were starting to open up again. My favorite park was available for running, but protests broke out nationwide with some becoming violent. Crowds gathering in the park put fear in me not just from COVID19, but potential demonstrations turning violent. After a few solitary runs, my motivation was deterred by concerns for safety. The ultimate detractor from my objective was the call from the lodge we booked a year ago stating that they are still closed due to the pandemic. Just like that the trip was cancelled. With all of the gymnastics of training types to keep up the cardio, I had to let go of the goal.
On the top of my priority list for “family” goals was our 4th of July celebration. It was to be a re-opening of Belle-Hampton where extended family would come to commemorate the occasion. After months of planning, our contractors were just putting the finishing touches on the renovations of the Main house. Our boys in town for the “move in” went back to their homes just as the nation was starting to shut down. The last of the deliveries for the furnishings came early as businesses were anticipating the closures. When the “safer at home” order came down from the governor, we were busy unpacking, arranging furniture and making beds. While people complained about boredom, we meticulously set up our new family office. Our house was complete, but was a celebration possible during the pandemic? Will family be comfortable traveling? Is having a group of twenty together safe? The answer was yes, our goal was met without harming anyone’s well-being.
For our “enterprise” goal, we wanted to get our Back Creek Wagyu business off the ground. Although we put a steak in the ground, no pun intended, we had no idea how to achieve our objective. Starting with harvesting three of the cattle, Tom, my husband, drove the animals to the processor before businesses closed because of the virus. But how to retrieve the meat after three weeks of processing became a concern. Fortunately travel was not shut down so picking everything up was only a passing worry. After filling two large freezers and every other available cold storage space on property, we had plenty of inventory. As grocery stores ran out of toilet paper, paper towels, hand-sanitizer and meat, a light bulb went off to seize the opportunity. Instead of our initial focus to sell directly to restaurants, the pivot to online sales became necessary since restaurants were closed. Step one, develop a website, step two, pricing, step three marketing and step four shipping. With a couple of bumps along the way, our full blood Wagyu became available nationwide. Although we quickly saw a need in the marketplace with the meat shortage, we priced conservatively not to gouge people unfairly during a crisis. Objectives were met even though the outcome looked different than intended.
A priority to get more involved in the community, became a challenge during the many crises of 2020. My class about the civil war was cancelled midway through the program as well as my presentation about the research I did on Belle-Hampton. The Life Long Learning Institute changed from meeting at the local community center to online, Zoom presentations. The Women’s Leadership Conference was postponed, but then revamped to also accommodate Zoom sessions. And the Virginia Tech Women’s Club swiftly changed over to Zoom board meetings and town halls. Never before has a technology so quickly been adopted by the masses as Zoom. Zoom birthday parties, happy hours, joint watch sessions and more all became the norm overnight. My “community” priority looked nothing like the plan, however, after needed adjustments still made the goal possible.
So to ponder the question, can you live too intentionally? Some people look at this year as a loss, a failure, wondering if there is a point to written goals when so much can change that is out of your control. The year 2020 is halfway over and the pictures I painted of my goals now have different colors. If you balance between self, family, enterprise and community goals, you might achieve in some categories, but not in others. Remaining flexible to swivel on how to get to the target is the best option. It is perseverance along with adaptability for success. How have you adjusted your priorities to the craziness of of today’s fast past life?
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