Vault

We are told from an early age to protect what is valuable.  “Put your toy in a safe place so you don’t lose it.”  “Find a special spot, so you don’t forget where you placed your wallet.”  “Make sure you lock up your passport and social security card.”  People are taught that some things are worth protecting.  No one encourages people to give away their driver’s license or trust a stranger with their diamond ring or tweet the passwords to their bank accounts.  We don’t encourage young children to dismiss their prize stuffed animal or tell a teenager to be reckless with their new Nike shoes.

Why, then, are we so cavalier with some of the things in life that really matter: our time, our energy, our relationships?  If we would protect these things half as much as we protect our new designer jeans or sports car, we would live more truly fulfilling lives.

One of the hardest things for me to do is to say “no.”  I must be allergic to the word, because I often fail to say “no” to the things that damage my time, energy and relationships.  I am often willing to risk myself and those who matter to me for the simple fear of what others might think if I say “no.”  My inner-voice should be my vault.  The quiet chamber where I place that which is sacred to me…my spouse, my children, my identity, my energy, my talents, my hopes.  Instead, I shame my inner peace, my personal integrity, and my inward compass to often please the people and things that are less significant to how I want to measure my success in life.

As 2015 was approaching, I was reflecting on the year and trying to envision the upcoming year.  The word that kept scrolling through my mind was the word "vault".  I assumed the repetitive thought meant I should place the sacred things of my world into my heart’s vault.  Insulate what matters to me.  When I started to reflect on the word, however, I quickly realized that the word vault has multiple meanings.  While a vault is a way of protecting valuables, the word also means to propel oneself.  How ironic: If I vault what is sacred, I can vault into my intended life.  Protecting results in propelling.

How much farther would we go if we edited our life down to the things that really mattered to us?  If our choices resulted in feeling a sense of true authenticity for how we spent our time, energy and relationships.  All of these things are priceless beyond measure, so what if we started treating them as the precious gems they are?  If you were told that your energy was worth a million dollars, would you spend it carelessly?  If you were told that your time was the most valuable stock on wall street, would you trade it so quickly?  If you were told that your family held their weight in gold, would you pawn them off to the closest dealer?  I think not; I hope not.

Changepoints:

We might wish to evaluate our vaults when:

·       We feel uneasy when we say “yes” to something that is counter to whom we really are.

·       We intuitively know we aren’t protecting the jewels in our life.

·       We go through a day and don’t really know how we have spent the time.

·       We feel loneliness even when we are living a crowded or busy life.

·       We know we are spinning our wheels on things that could be better spent propelling ourselves elsewhere.

o   What or who are the critical components of your life?

o   What are you doing to ensure you protect these areas?

2015.  The year for us to VAULT.  What do you need to vault?  Where do you want to vault?

outSIGHTin, LLC: Creating awareness as a changepoint for improved organizational results.