Last week, I almost made a decision I wouldn’t know I’d regret. 

Yeah, you read that right. 

What I mean by this is: I almost missed out on something that is now bringing me a lot of joy. And it’s kind of scary. 

Not scary because of how much joy it brings me, but scary because…

If I had said no, I would have truly missed out, and I would have had no idea what I was missing out on.

Long story short, I decided to take a seasonal job as a color guard instructor. This involves writing flag and dance routines for a team to perform in a marching band. But before I accepted the position, I was SO close to passing on it, so close to making the decision I wouldn’t know I’d regret.

But why would I say no? 

Well some of the things that crossed my mind were, “Because I’m in the middle of building my coaching business,” “Because so many people have told me you need to put all your energy and effort into a business venture if you want it to be successful,” and “Because I don’t have time for distractions. I need to just go all in on my passion!”

But something stopped me. 

Because even though these things might be true in some cases. This choice was different. 

For those of you who don’t know, color guard (and by extension, marching band) is something I’ve deeply enjoyed all throughout high school and college. It was by far my favorite thing I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of, and it always gave me the feeling that I was a part of something much bigger than myself. 

So there was something about the things I was telling myself that didn’t feel true. 

Colorguard? A distraction? For some people, sure.

But to me, it’s always been more than that. 

Ultimately, I justified taking the job by telling myself it was an “opportunity to gain leadership experience.” 

But once I accepted the color guard instructor position, it felt like way more than that. 

I immediately got out my old flag, practiced in my backyard, and found myself feeling new waves of energy that I hadn’t felt since the pandemic began. I started writing routines for nobody but myself, and re-teaching myself how to do all the stretching and technique from college. 

Every minute of it was fun for me. So much so that I found myself taking breaks between coaching sessions to get outside and practice. 

It’s so odd to think that a week ago, I was so intensely passionate about building my business that I almost denied myself the enjoyment of something else I’m passionate about. 

Being serious about my business should never mean that I’m limited to only doing business tasks. 

But on some level, that’s what so many of us trick ourselves into believing: That if we’re serious about something, we should only focus on that one thing. Then, when an opportunity for joy falls into our laps, we say to ourselves “No, I have to do X, so Y isn’t an option.” 

In short, we get tunnel vision,

This means we “focus exclusively on a single or limited goal or point of view.” We get so focused on our goals that we start thinking that we have fewer options and less freedom than we actually do. 

So we say no to things we enjoy because we think saying yes means we “aren’t being serious” or “aren’t working hard enough.”

But to that I say “pshh.” 

My friend, do not underestimate the energy you’ll be able to access when you allow yourself to carve out time for the things you enjoy.   

I thought I couldn’t be a color guard instructor because if I said yes, It would mean that I “was not serious enough” about building my business. 

When in reality, what it truly meant was that I am serious about having a high quality of life, and enjoying what I do. 

This week was a huge wake up call, because I almost forgot that the goals and aspirations I’ve set for myself are not the only ways I can get joy, fulfillment, and purpose out of my life.

My mind was closed, and my eyes focused on a destination instead of my journey. So now I feel like I’m taking off the blinders, and fully seeing the freedom I have to choose how and when I get fulfillment out of what I do.

Because if I’m not careful, I could easily fall victim to tunnel vision, and could mistakenly make a lot of decisions I wouldn’t know I’d regret. 

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Cheers, 

Morgan Rita Barbret