Multitasking: A FORCE To Reckon With

I have a love/hate relationship with Jillian Michaels.  I much prefer working out at the gym, most especially because of the day care, but sometimes like when I have a kid home sick or a baby that naps three times a day, the 30 Day Shred has been a great way to get in an intense workout in under 30 minutes. 

I can’t say that I actually like most of what she has to say. I am not working out so that I can look great in ALL those strapless dresses that I wear (ha!).  And if I were working out to look good in a bikini I would have given up long ago.  I don’t even usually listen to her anymore, I just turn on my itunes and mute the TV. But recently I had the volume on for some reason and she said,

“Most people don’t show up for their own lives.  They just go through their whole day without ever bringing their A game”.

(I know you’re asking yourself if she is seriously quoting the wisdom of Jillian Michaels?)

That’s me, I thought.  I often feel like I’m just going through the motions getting to the next task. As Yoda would say (now she’s quoting Yoda?)

"All his life he has looked away... to the future... to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was....what he was doing"

 

 

Now let me be clear… there is a big difference between perfection and “bringing your A game”. As a mother of four young boys, if I am looking for perfection I will be disappointed. If I wait for the perfect time to workout, I will never exercise.  If I wait for the perfect time to pray, I will be waiting a long time.  If I expect my house to be immaculate, I will drive myself and those who live here crazy.   Perfection is not something that’s attainable, but doing my best is what I am called to do. 

As Blessed Mother Theresa says, “We are not called to be successful, but to be faithful”

This has been a humbling realization.  My “A game” doesn’t always bring “A” results.   Maybe that’s why it’s easier sometimes to bring my “B” or “C” game… then when I get average results, it’s not so disappointing.

So I resolved to bring my A game that day.  But as I went through my day, I realized that thinking about paying bills while I was folding laundry and remembering to organize the carpool while I was in the shower was actually an important skill.  I think women have a unique gift in their ability to multitask.  While often men can be so focused on their reading or football game that they don’t even hear a kid talking directly to them, women often can hear what’s going on in four different rooms with all of her children while cooking dinner and talking on the phone.  And this is a gift.  Many times this ability has helped me save a child from danger... even if it means that sometimes the dinner gets burned.

Maybe not always having 100% of mind on what I am doing is actually a gift.  I mean, how much mind power does laundry or dishes require?  Dreaming gives us hope. If Luke Skywalker had brought his A game to every little farming chore, maybe he would have been too worn out to fight the dark side and save the galaxy. If he hadn’t been spending his time dreaming of how he wanted to make a difference in the world, maybe he wouldn’t have had the courage (and ego) to go and become a Jedi.  Dreaming for myself, my boys, and our family gives me a sense of the bigger picture and what I’m really trying to accomplish.  And while I can’t give all of my thoughts and energy to everything all the time, I think I’ll keep dreaming big and multitasking and save my “A game” for the moments that really count. J