This blog post originally appeared as a guest blog on LGDesigns.co. Read the full blog post by clicking here…

My life is full of obligations. Work, errands, chores, bills. Not unlike anybody else’s life. I choose to separate out what I have to do from what I want to do, but a habit that stems from childhood propels me to get the stuff I have to do finished before I have the privilege of doing the stuff I want to do. More often than not, I run out of time, and the fun lands on the back burner. Sound familiar?

There is, however, a grey area. It lives somewhere between the chores and the fun, and it sometimes makes a “want to” turn into a “have to.” I call this the “ought to.” I ought to see how my cousin’s new baby is doing, but I really don’t want to get into a 30 minute phone conversation. I ought to check in on my elderly neighbor, but his judgmental pronouncements annoy me. I ought to call that old friend who only wants to talk and never listen.

One of my personal goals is to try and eliminate the “ought tos” from my life. I ask myself whether they bring me joy, and if they don’t, I look for ways to phase them out.

Joy is not overrated….Read the full blog post by clicking here…