“The sweet spot is a place where a combination of factors results in a maximum response for a given amount of effort.” –Wikipedia
I am soooo glad that today is Friday. It has been a long week filled with more sickness, trying to play catch up and just plain tiredness. I can only take so much chaos at one time. Frankly I would prefer no chaos, but I have come to realize that “no chaos” will ever be a reality. Life IS chaos and so much of our value can be measured in how we respond to what comes our way in this life.
Despite my lingering cold/virus I played tennis yesterday and now my toenails hurt.
This could be from the jerky way that I zig zag, run, stop and then try to make contact with that miniscule, pesky, bouncing ball. Or it could just be the fact that I really need to trim my overgrown, unpainted toe nails. There is just not time people. Or motivation. Or time and motivation at the same time. (I’m not even going to touch on the fact that I should have shaved my legs before going to play.)
Where am I going? Well, a necessity of change in my life continues to rear its obnoxious head. And, I’m not talking about my toe nails or wearing pants instead of a tennis skirt.
I’m talking about a necessity of change that can often sound like, “finding the middle ground” or “establishing healthy boundaries.” For me I have best identified with the term sweet spot. The spot where you feel at peace. Where you are feeling, responding and behaving in a way that honors yourself, but also other people. Rather it be personally, professionally, emotionally, spiritually, or physically. You name it.
It’s the experience you have when you hit a tennis ball, golf ball or baseball just “right.” It feels good, it feels like you nailed it, like your plans were perfected.
I want more peace, more sweetness, more right.
But I know that there are areas where I am not hitting the ball in that sweet spot. It has become painfully aware to me that I need to do a much better job of keeping my eye on the ball. The ball of objectivity. Objectivity helps you to experience the sweetness.
The sweet spot between…
Having and giving, emotional and logical, passivity and controlling, organizing and hoarding, stressing and relaxing, talking and listening, leading and following, doing and watching, spending and saving, pride and humility, doing and being…..I could go on and on.
There are strengths on both ends of these comparisons. There are weaknesses too.
I am learning that I need to be more concerned with finding the sweet spot in the middle. The spot where I don’t push someone towards their end but rather help them come to the middle along with me.
This year I want to grow. I want to grow up and be more in the middle, more in the sweet spot. No longer moving to the bookends but rather somewhere like Goldilocks said, “just right.”
Connor & Me
In our house we tell our middle child, Connor, that he is the best part of the Oreo.
The sweet part.
