By Amy Nielsen
Whoops.
I got myself overcommitted and missed some answers on my recently submitted homework. It may not be a big deal to many, but it is to me. It shows my lack of commitment to my studies and to my teachers. I’m not so worried about the material the lesson taught. I know I need more time with the material and the universe handed it right back to me and said, “How’s about ya give a little attention to detail and effort next time?”
I’m more worried about my reputation with my teachers, many of whom I see on a regular basis.
I missed rewriting all of the explanations and one entire problem on my monthly homework. I have the messy notes for each. They are where I left them on the end table in the living room. But in my Yuletide insanity, trying to complete the lesson and get it sent in before the new year struck, I failed to proof read the final copy. I screwed up. I wasn’t as committed to my good standing as an student as I was to enjoying my holiday.
As I study to become an herbalist, it’s as important to be present in the moment as it is to know the materials and herbs. I wasn’t ready with either and that message came through loud and clear in my homework.
My lesson this week: beware the giant O! Overcommitment. I wanted to do so much before the end of the year that I rushed through several things just to have them done by December 31st. Check mark in red pen and all. In my haste I not only missed important work, but I gave only 80 percent effort to any one thing. I didn’t have it to give one hundred percent to anything because I was doing one thousand things.
So how do I fix it now? What can I do to gain my personal confidence back and also show my teachers that I am willing and able to be teachable and admit and fix my mistakes? I have already submitted a leave of absence for two months to take a more in-depth class on anatomy and physiology. I could sit here today and redo the homework from the lesson and resubmit it in the mail tomorrow as that new class doesn’t start until Monday. But instead, I think I will wait.
If I rushed and redid the lesson this weekend, I still wouldn’t understand the lesson much better. I am still in the same place I was when I submitted it last month. I got some of the formula I submitted wrong. So I obviously need more time to study the material. I haven’t really gained much more knowledge since then. While my answers would be more complete, having actually submitted the full answers, they would be no less enlightened than when I wrote out the answers the first time.
I am going to take my time and really get into the lesson and understand what it is all about. Going through the anatomy and physiology class at the same time will help build my understanding of the formula in the lesson better. It can only make my homework better if I submit it again after taking the new class. I will have a better understanding and more knowledge to draw from the second time around.
And now, as I plan my year ahead, I already see places on the calendar and feel that tightness in my solar plexus and know that I already cannot cram another thing into that week. I know that if I don’t start looking ahead to this time next year, and plan better, I will find myself with chunks of time where I am overcommitted. I’m not saying I am planning out every day for the next 365, but I am saying I know that every other month for the whole year, I am already slated to be traveling one full week, if not more.
For the first six months of the year, I am still a student, in three different schools. That is a lot of learning and studying to work through. I am also working to build a set of class offerings to teach. The second half of the year will be dedicated to building my business, class offerings and client base. Pacing myself through this schedule will be key. Making sure I hit all of the deadlines to keep my word will be crucial to my success.
What happens if I find out that I have too much on my plate? What then? I have to learn to gracefully restructure my time or my commitments. I might have to reprioritize. I need to understand that it is ok to do so. In fact, by doing so, I show my commitment to that project even more. It says to me that I need more time to be more focused on this than I have to give right now. By moving that project to another time I can be more fully present for it and it will, by that commitment, have a better outcome.
So for now, I will swallow my bruised pride and embarrassment at submitting incomplete work. I will take this lesson from the universe and vow to take my time and be fully present for all of my endeavors this year. I will go back and reread the whole lesson from start to finish again. Only then will I rewrite the answers and resubmit them along with the next lesson after I finish the anatomy and physiology class.
Lesson learned, in more ways than one.
