If everything matters, does anything get accomplished?

In a life where every issue is ratcheted up to the sticking point, how does anything get accomplished?  Perhaps it is a matter of choosing your priorities and sticking to them.

If you are truly concerned about these issues, can you decide which ones are really important to you?

The demise of newspapers
Climate change
The Socialization of America
Mountaintop removal
Decline of literacy
Lack of recycling
Real or imagined pandemics
Preserving the Constitution
Supreme Court Justice appointments
Making a living
Staying healthy
Your children's futures
loss of basic freedoms
loss of jobs to other countries
illegal immigration
Being/staying creative
Doing things you enjoy

You are bombarded with urgent requests to contribute money and time to making a difference in other people's lives. If you are a parent with young children, every day has an endless list of things that have to be done just to keep life on an even keel.

So, how do you chart a course through all of this?

First of all, there is no single answer. Your first choice is to decide whether you will take control or whether you will let life control you.

You are not going to please everyone and you might as well decide that you are going to do what is best for you and your family first, then your friends and the community and then the world beyond.

Attempting to save the world but losing yourself and your family in the process is not a winning strategy.

On the other hand, focusing only on yourself and your family leaves you at the mercy of those who are far more organized and have created political power structures that can affect your life and that of your family.

We also know what we think of politicians who put their family interests ahead of their job responsibilities. Feeding government contracts to family members is a well established tradition in Washington, DC, and elsewhere.

So a balance is required between family and personal needs and the needs of the greater community in which you live and depend on for security, income, etc.

Perhaps the best solution is to include your immediate family in prioritizing your activities while making sure to include both short and long term goals into your planning. Remember too that playtime is as necessary for adults as it is for kids.

Everyone has to find the mix that works for them. If you have any suggestions that have worked well for you, please share them.

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