Last week, I had someone tell me that if I’d get my photography web-site going and give them some business cards, they could start funneling me new kids to town looking for head shots. I told her my usual song and dance about being so busy I haven’t had a chance to get it running.

“It’s my passion, but it has gotten put on the back burner,” I admitted to her.  And she gently admonished me to never let my passion fall to the side. I forget what I said in response… for all I know I might have just walked away. Not because I was offended or angry, but because her words echoed in my head.

On the MeYou Health Daily Challenge website, I am doing an “Emotional Enrichment” track. Yesterday’s challenge was to list 5 activities that make me happy. It made me a little sad that I sat there just staring at the prompt for a long time, trying to figure out what on earth to list. It’s not that I’ve been unhappy, lately! I think I’ve just gotten a little lost. Lost in to do lists and schedules. If anyone were to ask me what I do, I’d have to say I work three or four jobs.

I bartend to make money. And I sincerely enjoy it! I enjoy working hard. I enjoy interacting with people. Its fun! And I still think that some day down the line, my husband and I will run our own bar. Some day.

I do photography, which is something I want to do for a living as my primary job. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to do it as I would like to these days. I’ve barely kept up my Project 365. I blog, which you can probably tell how well THAT’S been going.

I design. I feel that this is where I’ve failed lately. I got a major web project done (or as done as it can be at this point) this weekend. And a business card project is at 98% as well. Both took me far longer than they should have. I have a new logo to work up, and of course my own web-site design still to do.

I head up the local Texas A&M alumni club. It is volunteer work, and its a definite labor of love. And its opened up doors and connections that I would never have had otherwise! I am thankful for the A&M club… even if tends to overwhelm me with work.

Oh and then I keep up with  my husband and his schedule. House work gets done as I can.

I love being busy!  I am thankful for work to do, because I am not someone who wants to sit around doing nothing. I love making a living, and I’m proud of how far we’ve come the last few years financially. And I am actually proud of myself for demanding a certain amount of time to relax after a particularly full week, for demanding to spend time with my husband when he’s home. And I like getting 8 hours of sleep.

But despite it all, despite striving to make order of my life’s ever-changing schedule, I find myself overwhelmed. And I’m not sure its because I have too much to do, but more because I’ve put the wrong things as a priority. Now that I have a couple big projects behind me, its time to regain sight of my passions and rework my focus. Because THAT is what its going to take to make things really happen.

For anyone curious… my list of 5 things that make me happy:

In no particular order…

1 – Photography. I like to take pictures. If others enjoy the photos I take all the better, but at the end of the day I do it for myself.

2 – Writing. Its a great free therapy and always makes me happy.

3 – Date night with my husband. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t have to cost at all. Just “getting away from it all” with my husband makes me happy.

4 – Cooking. I don’t do it much any more because my kitchen is so small that it ends up being a PITA. But I do enjoy creating yummy things.

5 – Hard work. I like to work hard. Its part of why I enjoy bartending. I love it when its busy (but not stupid busy — that’s just stressful) and there’s a challenge to keep up. I love the fast pace and the challenge of it. It feels great to work hard.

I have a lot on my plate in this moment. Half of these things will be over by the end of this week. (Thank heavens!) The many projects are a labor of love for me — benefits for wonderful causes — but they have also been a great source of stress at the same time.

Last week, I let the blog lie dormant. My hits took a serious, well, hit, and I don’t like being out of the loop in my reader’s minds. But for my own sanity, something had to give. I had to “cry uncle” somewhere. Unfortunately, this blog was the thing to fall by the wayside.

Sometimes to make things happen, you have to admit you can’t do it all. Sometimes you also just have to stop for awhile. Stop throwing yourself against the wall. Stop beating yourself up for not getting it all done. Just. Stop.

We’re all human. We have only so many hours in a day. We can only be one place at a time. Sometimes… sometimes the best way to make things happen is to not do it at all for a little while.