Tuesday, February 22, 2011

these three things (of orient are...)

Once I took one of those intensive summer classes, the kind that is 3 hours every day for 6 weeks.  A great way to knock out language credit AND a great solution for natural procrastinators--the semester is so short you don't have TIME to get behind!  So I had that class every morning from 9-12, and I worked every afternoon at this awful debt consolidation place ("Our philosophy is in our name..." anybody?  anybody?) from 1-6, and I had an internship on a local congressional campaign from 6-9.  Every day.  And it was crazy, but also PERFECT, because I was doing three totally different things with three totally different crowds using three totally different parts of my brain.  And it was then I realized the magic of These Three Things.

To feel awesome I need at least three distinct things going on.  Just one and it takes over your life; just two and they fight with each other for dominance.  Three is the magic number for me.

(Do you remember the old, old video from junior high health class with the catchy tune: "The health of man!  Is like an!  Equilateral triiiiiii-ANGLE!  Completely dependent on the length and strength of each siiiiiiide!").  This is my equilateral triangle of feeling normal!

Anyway, what I'm saying here is that I am inching closer to finding that magic balance again and am loving it.  Since I have tiny kids in a time-intensive stage of life, my family is obviously one of my things.  And my newish job is another one of those things, and my assignment at church is another.  Between the three of those things I feel like I have major time commitments through which I consistently deal with different crowds (the 2-and-under crowd, the college student crowd, the teen girl crowd) and use different parts of my brain (the mom part, the lawyer part, the churchy/mentor part). 

So the three things CHANGE pretty consistently but if I have more than three big things or fewer than three big things I go nuts or battle mental/emotional atrophy.  Whaddayathink?

7 comments:

Dorothy said...

Yes yes yes! I have been trying to get a job so I can get that third side. Pray for me to get a job I applied for!

alex dumas said...

This is an interesting concept. Perhaps one that I need to explore.

Motion DeSmiths said...

This rings true to me. I think you should write a pop psych book about it.

heidikins said...

I think I need to make sure to always have three things (and maybe only three things?) to keep me sane. Although, I would very much like my Calculus class NOT to be one of those three things (3 more months until mathematic freedom!)

I love that you recognize this need in yourself. Kudos to you,my dear.

xox

tatum said...

awesome!

Deanna said...

As one that is dog-paddling to stay afloat in my ONE HUGE THING, I think it sounds about right. Wait... Diet Coke doesn't count as a thing, right?

Ru said...

Love this theory and this title :)