Last week I found the courage to gracefully bow out of something I no longer wanted to do.  I did it because I have finally accepted that time spent doing one thing means time not spent doing something else.  Don't get me wrong, I liked the project I was working on.  I liked the people and I liked the perks that came along with it.  There was no compelling reason to bow out of the project, except that...

Time spent doing one thing is time not spent doing something else.

It took me months to muster up the courage.  Months.  I replayed the scenario in my head a million times.

"So and so will be mad.  They will they think I'm not a hard worker or that I am not a woman of my word."  

"I'll miss the friends I've made."

"What about the extra money?  Do I really want to give it up, especially in this economy?"

"The project will suffer and I'll feel guilty.  What happens if they can't find a replacement?  I'll be leaving them in a lurch."

There were a million perfectly logical reasons to stay and only one real reason to walk away:

Time spent doing one thing is time not spent doing something else.

I learned two interesting lessons in the process of doing what I did.  The first is, no matter how indispensable you think you are, life goes on and so will the project.  People were politely disappointed after I announced I was leaving, but within fifteen minutes we were brainstorming interim solutions and promising one another to meet for lunch soon.

Second.  When you are passionate about the way in which you DO want to spend your time, voices of uncertainty will be drowned out by the voices of your calling.  I ended last week feeling much less like I was leaving something behind and much more like I was moving toward something important.  That's because I am able to hear my calling louder and more clearly than ever before.

Time spent doing one thing is time not spent doing something else.

Join us in the Community Forum labeled, Today's Post and tell us how that statement might apply to you.  Or, just tell us what time spent visiting us means that you are not doing somewhere else.

Shining off until tomorrow...