Have you ever had the thought, “Man, it’d be nice to have “X”? It’s funny how with me, “Man, it’d be nice to
have “X” becomes “Man, I have to have “X”!
That thought change happens with me when the benefits of having X enter
my mind. For example, about 10 years ago
we were so unorganized that I really wanted a desk to help straighten things up. It made so much sense that it went from
something that would be nice to have to something that we “needed” to
have. How much more organized, and therefore
easier, our life would be! These thought changes have cost me so much money over
the years. In fact, it’s something I’m
still working through.
Here is another example:
We wanted to switch our dining room with our kids play room because the
play room was so big and the dining room was too small to entertain. If we switched, dinner parties (e.g. –
Christmas Eve Dinner, Easter Dinner, etc.) would be so much more comfortable
and the kids could still have a playroom.
To make it better, we thought giving them a TV would be even
better! The kids could watch a show on
their TV while we watched one on ours. We
just needed a TV. Instead of using the
old tube TV we had in the basement, we bought ourselves a nice 47 inch flat
screen and gave the kids the 37 inch from the family room. A great idea, right? Maybe, but not a high priority. I got the idea of a new TV in my head and
that was it. I couldn’t get it out and I
had to have it. Why?
Right now, with it being so cold
out, I really want to insulate our ducts to make the heating (and cooling in
the summer) of our house more efficient.
It’s a great idea, right?
Insulate the ductwork and save money! Why wouldn’t I want to do that? It’s a good idea that has become something I
need to do. Why?
I’ve realized that when I have a good
idea, and it makes sense to do, I make them “need to do’s”! To quote Jeremy Foley, "What should be
done eventually, must be done immediately." True!
So true! If the priority
fits! What I have to do is sit back and
really think about what is necessary and what is not. Right now we’re in debt. Our first order of business needs to be
getting out of debt. I need to learn to
quell those thoughts and keep things on track.
Yes, it would be nice to insulate the ducts right now. It would help us save money by efficiently
keeping the house warmer/cooler. But we’re
fine for right now! It can be done at a
later date. It doesn’t need to be done
right now! I’m going to rephrase the
quote from above...
“What should be done eventually,
must be done as priorities allow!”
Time
to get priorities straight...and keep em straight!
