Don't go off half-cocked! Ready, fire, aim, isn't the way to go!

Pandemic is now officially the least favorite lifestyle for most of us. It's also hitting closer to home as our daughter's sister-in-law has now passed away after three weeks on a ventilator. My grandson is something of a basket case these days, worrying about catching virus, not wanting to return to school, or even see us anywhere closer than across an outdoor space. I don't blame him. What a crazy world we're leaving these children!

Meanwhile, I've been thinking, both for myself and for clients about the title above. It's fairly easy these days for me to have a simple life; I can see myself as retired and don't have to make a living anymore. I can enjoy the yard, even when the lists I make of the "to-do's" simply don't get done. I have the luxury of taking my time, deciding what's important to me, and only doing those things that serve that need. I am lucky indeed.

Yet many people are still trying to participate in a world that I'm not sure exists anymore. They're trying to figure out how to manage lives in an unmanageable world. And for too many of us that goes back to what I say in the title. I see too many people these days who seem to be operating from that phrase "ready, fire, aim" instead of "ready, aim, fire." I believe too many of us stand and go into action BEFORE we take aim. Put in simple terms: What would it be like if we chose an action, stood, thought about the action and primed our body BEFORE we acted? What if we aimed ourselves first, then "fired" on the world?

The upside of COVID-19 for me is that it is letting me have an ability to be more single-minded—if I get one thing done in a day, I feel there's been a success. I'm happier working on a single project instead of looking around at all the "shoulds" I've given myself. And I'm happier with the idea of accomplishing a small goal or two instead of trying to save the world. It's an interesting concept: Are you in the ready/fire/aim category, or the ready/aim/fire one? Do you allow yourself to stand, collect yourself, and find your line before you go into the world, or are you still scurrying to keep up with this new and crazy world? Choose wisely!