Just One More Thing…

WELLNESS | by POSY GERING

ONE OF MY FAVORITE DELUSIONS is that I can squeeze in “one more thing” before I head to my next appointment. The result is invariably a squeeze on me.

I have a calendar. I have a sense of how long it takes to get from here to there. However, my Outlook reminder must set off a chemical reaction in my brain. I am compelled to do one more thing before I go.

Instead of sanity, I brew the “perfect stress storm” that results in sacrificing access to my best thinking, increasing tension and setting myself up for low self-esteem.

Since I’m racing to finish something, I get tense. I always underestimate the time it takes just to gather up the materials needed, put on my coat, check the location, find the book I was going to return to the library and walk to my car.

Now I’m relying on the highly unlikely alignment of the planets with traffic and a convenient parking place in order to be on time. I stop breathing. My thoughts are racing, and — usually — are filled with apologies and self-recrimination.

I arrive at my destination flustered, frustrated and frantic, not the the way I want to experience life. If I want to be centered, creative and enjoying the moment, there is a solution: Resist the temptation to add one more item to the list.