Taking Control Part 1

I have a dear friend.  He is a psychologist trained at Yale who spends a great deal of his time teaching at Northwestern University.  He works with my YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) forum group, a group of folks that meets monthly to talk business, life, spiritual stuff, and anything else we are thinking about in a totally confidential setting.  Our agenda for the past ten years has been personal growth.  This friend is about ten years older than most of us, and he told us one day that his life’s priorities have come down to three things: passion, connections, and avoiding shit.  I suppose you could change that to crap.  But the original word sort of says it all.  The concept here of course is to do things that really matter to you, with people you truly enjoy or new people you want to know better.  STOP doing all the stuff that we get sucked into by others, and by all means avoid the negative people in your life.  It sounds refreshing, right?  I think about this now and then when I realize I’m heading down a slippery slope.  I have only so much time outside of work and family; so, instead of forcing myself to spend time with people I don’t enjoy or making myself devote time to things about which I’m not passionate, I nudge myself back toward those things that do bring me joy.  I retain control over my time and my energy, and everyone around me is happier for it.