We’ve all been there, living from life event to life event, from crisis to crisis, letting outside forces direct our lives. With all the good reasons and bad excuses to not do things that we want to — or that take us out of our regular routines.

You absolutely can not take that girls’ weekend at the beach, after all. It’s a client emergency, the CEO is in a dither. You are the only person in the world he can count on to….(fill in the blank). Even though he’s taken up most of your weekends for years with busy work that’s really just for moral support.

Maybe you’ve got time for a quick lunch, but forget that day of spa services. Hubby is too busy at work to (pick one: babysit the grandkids for you, wait for the washing machine repair service, get the car fixed, meet the painter).

You can’t bear to be parted from your fiance for even a day and so hardly ever do anything without him unless it’s while he is at work. Of course, so are you, and so are your friends, everyone works….but hey…you aren’t really all that interested in outings without him, anyway. You can accept that you don’t ever do anything with your posse any more.

Your days are taken up with the mish-mash schedule your kids have: ballet lessons, soccer practice, baseball games and therapy (is it any wonder?). No, you can’t miss (taking them to a practice, a lesson, a game) to see a matinee. Ever. They’ll be scarred for life.

You’ve been so busy you haven’t had a moment to initiate a call to any of your best friends in a month. You’re exhausted.

Does this ring a bell?

Is it ok with you? Is this how you want to live your life?

No? Then what are you going to do about it?