Being selfish vs selfless; you have to draw a line or you will drown trying.

For the last two-ish years, I’ve been on a super self-aware journey. Being a writer forces me to embrace that I’m goofy, it’s a personality trait but also it forces me to be real with myself. When I write reality it’s staring back at me in black and white and there’s nothing I can do about it.
I finally figured out my biggest fault.

“I’m the kind of person to give someone my last dollar,” and I have. It took me thirty years to realize the error of my ways and how mentally unsustainable this mindset truly is.

I keep helping everyone build their boats from scratch knowing a storm is brewing and my boat needs major repairs.

“I have enough time. I’ll build everyone’s boats and then I’ll repair mine really quickly.” Even in my hypothetical fantasyland I have unrealistic time management skills.

This scenario plays out again and again, season after season. I probably shouldn’t live somewhere that storms so often. I never finish my boat because I need to be everyone’s mechanic even at the cost of my own mobility.
The boat is a metaphor but the situation is realistic as they come. For 31 I’m going to challenge myself to create boundaries. I need to remind myself that it’s absolutely okay to fix my own boat first and I don’t have to be everyone’s mechanic.

Do yourself a favor this year and take inventory on yourself. Explore your strengths and your faults and assess your words. Write them down, create a plan, and let them go.
What’s your biggest fault?