Smart Women Plan Ahead

Recently, I made a trip to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) here in Los Angeles to renew my driver’s license. I made a smart choice by scheduling an appointment for my renewal rather than “winging it” as a “walk in.” As I approached the DMV in my car, I saw scores of people forming a line that wrapped around the outside of the building. As you can imagine, my heart began to race at the prospect of standing in a line that long. I began a mental scan of my “to do” list in my head with a bit of anxiety about how lengthy this process might be.

After parking my car, I approached the line of at least 75 people and asked one man, “Is this the line for appointments?” The man replied, “Oh no, that’s inside.” I took a deep sigh of relief and continued on through the front door. I immediately saw the “Appointment Line” which had only 2 people ahead of me. This got me thinking about how Smart Women understand the value of making an appointment rather than “winging it” in every area of their lives.

People don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan. Many people do not value their time. If you ever sat down and figured out what your time is worth and more importantly, how fleeting it is, you’d live your life differently.

Recently, a friend asked me a question about something and my initial answer was, “I don’t have time.” After a moment of reflection, I quickly corrected myself. I said, “Wait a minute, what I just told you isn’t true. I have enough time. I have not placed a high value on this and so I haven’t made the time.” You see, you have enough time for what you want to accomplish. You manifest what you think about. I bet at least once today, you’ve thought or told someone you don’t have enough time—right? If you are really honest with yourself (like I had to be that day) it’s not that you don’t have enough time. It’s that you don’t value the action item or activity enough to include it in the time you have.

The reality is if you want:

*a loving relationship with your spouse/partner
*a loving and bonded relationship with your child/children
*a loving relationship with friends and family
*a successful business that meets the goals and expectations you’ve set
*a healthy mind and body

…I invite you to make the decision to schedule an appointment to spend quality time on what you want in your life and stop “winging it.”

When any area of my life is out of sorts, (if I’m really honest with myself) it’s because I haven’t made an appointment to spend the time that’s required to have meaningful moments in those areas. When I turn my attention to any of these areas, I find almost immediate benefit.

My time at the DMV was short and sweet. My appointment was for 11:55 and I walked out the door with my renewal at 12:20. As I made my exit through the glass door, I caught the eye of a man who had been waiting when I arrived. Unfortunately, he hadn’t made much progress toward the front of the line. I gave him a hopeful smile and continued on to my car.

Your life will unfold based on the choices you make. To quote Annie Dillard, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Anything is possible. Everything is waiting for you.

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