Over the summer, I had to make some fundamental decisions about what and how much I do professionally. In order to make the changes needed, I was forced to ponder both where I could best use my talents and where I felt the most personal satisfaction. The process was painful but in the end the decisions were clear and I have not regretted them. Over the weekend, this tweet caught my eye:

In the beginning you say yes to everything. Being successful means learning to say “no” (@RicDragon)

One of my teacher mentors once said, ” If you want something done, ask a busy person” and I had begun to equate busyness with success. Some reevaluation, akin to closet cleaning (and, as I found out today, yard maintenance) was clearly overdue.

So, what has this all got to do with yard maintenance you ask? Well, this morning a woman came to give us a bid on doing some work. She told me it looked tired and drab, that she was not a fan of my mexican clay pots and would get rid of them and put in a few very large (and expensive) pots. She sniffed when I said that I wanted our yard to look like the South American garden at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. She told me I wanted her opinion but was not listening to her. Actually, I had invited her over to give her an overview of what we wanted done (which incidentally did not involve clay pots in any way but did involve thwarting a dog named Jack who likes to dig). We were at an impasse. Needless to say, she will not be doing our work.

This afternoon, every time I look at the yard, I see it in a new way. I must admit some changes are definitely in order. Do I need to keep that faded, disintegrating, and cracked pot just because someone gave it to me 30 years ago? Do I need all those little pots that take time and energy to water by hand? Can I combine some small plants into one larger pot? Can I move some things around to improve flow and make the area seem more spacious?

I had been forced to ask the same sorts of questions about my professional life. Bottom line was, I had to find a balance of things which generated income and things which didn’t. I had to ask myself which things could someone else do just as well? Where do I feel the most effective? Where did I want to go? In the end I cut down on some teaching and some service.

This fall, new opportunities have opened up. I collaborated on a volume of Latin American pop and folk tunes. I have a group of wonderful college students. I am getting reacquainted with the harpsichord and coordinating a workshop for our school and community. I am practicing more.

And, I am learning think twice before I say yes.

 

Here’s a link to a cool blog post on changing course from Molly Cantrell-Kraig.


 

 

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